


Off to Save Asgard

by RedHeadedWoman



Series: Home Verse [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Incredible Hulk - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Avengers Family, Avengers Tower, Avengers in Asgard, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Flashbacks, Hurt Tony Stark, James Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, M/M, Marvel Norse Lore, Past Child Abuse, References to Norse Religion & Lore, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark Friendship, Thor Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Has Daddy Issues, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Hates Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-18
Updated: 2014-07-18
Packaged: 2018-01-19 19:56:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 32,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1482025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedHeadedWoman/pseuds/RedHeadedWoman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>‘Without the Norns guarding the Urdarbrunnr and caring for Yggdrasil the world could end.’</i>
</p>
<p>  <i>‘Did anyone understand a word of that?’ Tony said to Barton who shook his head, eyebrows raised. </i></p>
<p>  <i>‘Well,’ Steve began clearly not understanding what was going either. ‘We’ll come with you.’</i></p>
<p>Tony Stark had been called many things but landlord to a bunch of superheroes was not a title he wanted. But Fury had made them move in anyway. </p>
<p>Now, he has to deal with drunken kids games and a trip to Asgard to save something called the Norns. Whatever the hell they are.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by [such-a-pain-in-the-cas](http://such-a-pain-in-the-cas.tumblr.com/)

Tony’d rather be anywhere but here; At home, maybe, in the lab. Or in bed with Pepper. Actually not even in bed. A couch, the shower, the floor. Somewhere private with them both naked and sweaty and maybe with cuffs or a tie or …

‘Stark! Are you listenin’ to me?’

_Anywhere but here._

Tony nodded absently to get Fury off his back.

They’d been stuck on the damn base in the middle of New York for hours now listening to Fury banging on about expenditure and strategy before somehow moving onto communication or something. Tony had zoned out around half an hour ago when Fury had started in on something about prevention measures and _blah blah blah._

‘I need a way of contacting you lot when you’re needed. So, you either got a tracker in you or ya’ll come up with somethin’ yourselves.’

‘Yeah, no. You can’t put a tracker on me. Not good in my line o’work.’ Barton glanced up from the mini-bow he’d constructed out of stolen paperclips from Coulson.

‘I would also prefer a different way.’ Bruce added from his spot beside Tony at the expansive table.

‘Then come up with somethin’ better.’ Fury urged, standing up at the head of the table.

‘Club house anyone?’ Tony asked with a smirk.

The boardroom fell into silence as Fury grinned, ‘Are you offering?’

Tony flinched, warily, ‘Offering what?’ For all that he was a genius, Tony just wasn't getting it.

‘A club house.’ Fury said point blank, clearly dismayed he’d had spell it out.

‘Yeah, you got that big fancy tower. And I happen to know that it’s all nice and put back together. Especially since you gave your Malibu address to a terrorist.’ Barton happily reminded him.

The smirk promptly fell from Tony’s lips.

‘What the fuck are you talking about?’

‘You’ve just offered to house the Avengers, Stark. You got one month to get rooms set up before this lot moves right on in.’

‘No,’ Tony sat back shaking his head and waving his hands to emphasise his point. ‘Absolutely not. I can’t because…of…reasons.’ He finished lamely.

‘I heard you were renaming it _Avengers_ Tower?’ Rogers interjected.

‘Shut up, you,’ Tony pointed a finger at Steve who seemed to shrink back leaving him feeling a little guilty. ‘Just ‘cause I _considered_ renaming it doesn’t mean you lot get to move in. There’s no room.’

‘Pfft, you’ve got plenty room, Stark, you just don’t wanna share.’ Barton pointed his mini bow at him but Coulson plucked it from his fingers, ignoring the betrayed-amused look that Barton sent him.

‘Ah, yeah, pretty much.’ Tony happily admitted.

‘Too bad, Stark. One month and then you’ve got yourself some roommates. Now, get the fuck outta my sight.’

Fury stalked out of the room, his lovely leather cape flowing along behind him. Tony watched him go before looking at the rest of the Avengers. Barton, the bastard, was smirking at him.

‘Oh, come on, Tony. You let Brucie move in.’ Barton pleaded.

‘He didn’t let me, he forced me.’ Bruce muttered.

‘Did not,’ Tony argued petulantly and clapped a hand onto Bruce’s shoulder. ‘And there’s space for Brucie ‘cos of science. None of you-’ he gestured at them ‘-science so there’s no room for you.’

‘Too bad, Stark, they’re moving in.’ Coulson said gathering together his paperwork.

‘Ah, but if I move in, so do you.’ Barton smirked at Coulson who rolled his eyes.

‘No.’ Tony said with what he hoped was an air of finality before standing up with every intention of stalking out to complain to someone. Rhodey would listen to him. Maybe.

‘Yet, unfortunately, Stark, you haven’t been given a choice. Coulson stated.

‘Fuck that.’

‘Stark.’ Rogers said in that _I-am-from-the-forties-please-don’t-swear_ voice.

‘Ugh, fine. But I am doing this under complete duress.’

Tony stormed out of the room already designing the possible rooms in his head.

In the short drive from SHIELD HQ to his tower, Tony came up with vague designs for a kitchen, gym, TV/games floor, three floors of bedrooms and a redesign and extension of Bruce’s lab as well as designs for a garage slash war room to go underneath Tony’s private garage.

After parking Tony made his way up to his lab. The design of the lab was based directly on the lab he’d had in Malibu and the charred remains of Dummy’s body were resting in a mangled, but discernible, pile by the door. He ran his fingers over the strut of Dummy’s arm. Butterfingers and You beeped and whirred at him from where they sat patiently for Tony to hook up the final wires so that they could properly dock into their charging stations.

‘Hello, boys! Daddy’s home!’

‘Good afternoon, sir. How was the briefing with Director Fury?’

‘Crappy, J,’ Tony stripped out of his nice, expensive suit and pulled on a pair of ratty jeans and ripped up AC/DC tour shirt before dragging Butterfingers over to the workstation and beginning. ‘The Avengers are gonna move in.’

‘Move in, sir?’

‘Yep. I was tricked into it. So, now, I gotta design rooms for them.’

‘And I’m sure you’ve not yet designed anything?’ JARVIS, snarky as ever, asked.

‘Course not, J. I’ve designed all of it.’

‘Shall I begin the basic mock ups for you to alter and build upon?’ JARVIS opened up a program and began doing exactly that.

‘You’re a doll, JARVIS. What would I do without you?’

‘I am sure you would find a way to manage without my assistance, sir.’

‘Whatever you say, J.’

Three hours later, Tony was arms deep in Butterfinger’s wiring when JARVIS interrupted him to announce Peppers arrival, ‘May I suggest that you inform her of the impending roommates?’

‘Yeah, yeah, J, will do.’

He ignored the advice, choosing instead to solder down the last piece of wiring and guided the bot to his charging station.Only when the bot was plugged in did he notice that Pepper had come into the lab and was looking through some paperwork that no doubt needed signing.

‘Pepper.’ Tony grinned and pulled her into a deep kiss before spinning away.

‘Hello, Tony,’ Pepper laughed, straightening her jacket. ‘Sign these please. How was the meeting?’

‘Well,’ Tony drew out the single word blindly signing the papers and pushed them back across the table top to Pepper. ‘Avengers are movin’ in.’

‘What was that last bit?’ Pepper stopped still.

‘Fury’s makin’ ‘em move in.’ Tony leant against the table and pulled Pepper in against him.

‘Should I bother asking why?’ Pepper placed her hands on his shoulders and cocked an eyebrow at him.

‘Somethin’ about being able to contact all of us. I dunno, its crap, but Bruce already lives here so why not?’

‘I’m not sure, Tony. Is that really such a good idea? I mean, having them here could - ’

‘Make things worse? Probably, but I think it’ll work out. Besides, agent’ll be movin’ in with Barton so you’ll be able to gossip with him or whatever it is you two do.’

‘Complain about you mostly.’

‘Love you too, Pep.’

‘I know,’ Pepper pressed a chaste kiss to Tony’s lips. ‘Are you sure about this?’

‘Yeah, I’m sure. I think that it might actually, y’know, be a good thing.’

‘How so?’ Pepper ran her fingers through Tony’s hair to message the nape of his neck.

‘I dunno,’ Tony slid his hands down Pepper’s side to rest against her hips and rubbed circles against the cotton silky material thing of her skirt. ‘After the battle and the Mandarin and what happened to Clint and Phil and even Thor in London and whatever else has been goin’ on I just think that everyone bein’ in the same place might help with whatever.’

Pepper smiled softly at him and pulled Tony into a hug and pressed a kiss to his hair. ‘Okay then. The Avengers are moving in. Just don’t go overboard with the designs, okay?’

‘Can’t promise ya that one, Pep.’ Tony pulled away from Pepper only to pull her into another deep kiss.

‘How are your robots doing?’ Pepper asked when she pulled away and began cleaning up some of the debris scattered across the lab tables.

Tony pushed himself up and gathered together wires for You. ‘Butterfingers is all good and You just needs his wires for chargin’ and stuff. Haven’t started on Dummy yet.’

‘Good,’ Pepper lightly ran her palm over Dummy’s arm and pressed a kiss to Tony’s cheek before leaving. ‘Don’t go overboard’ were her parting words.

Tony grinned as he motioned You over to the bench and began on the wiring.


	2. Chapter Two

Tony makes himself scarce on D-day, claiming an emergency meeting for which his presence was an absolute necessity. Ahem, yeah. He left Bruce in place of a welcoming party before hiding away on the other side of the county.

The others arrived in drabs; first came Steve, anxiously exploring corridors until he found Bruce making tea in an expansive kitchen. Bruce turned around when he heard him approach.

‘Would you like a cup?’ he asked smiling.

‘Uh, yeah, that would be good, thank you.’ Steve replied, eyes roaming over the gadget-packed room

‘You’ll get used to -’ Bruce gestured around the room, ‘- all this.’

‘I’m not sure that’ll happen any time soon.’ Steve said, accepting a steaming mug before spilling it everywhere when a disembodied voice announced the arrival of Natasha who had found the kitchen with ease.

Bruce finished wiping up the tea and offered Natasha a cup.

‘Do you have any other flavours?’ Natasha asked, inspecting the plain herbal tea Bruce was using.

‘Of course. What would you like?’

‘What do you have?’

‘Camomile, Camomile and honey- ’ JARVIS began, ‘- Chai, Darjeeling, English breakfast, Earl Grey, pure green, green and lemon, lemon and ginger, Oolong chocolate chai -’

‘Mute. They’re, uh, all in that tin. Take your pick.’ Bruce sighed.

Natasha headed over to the large tin and began flicking through the myriad of tea flavours.

‘What’s the voice?’ Steve asked eventually, breaking the silence

‘JARVIS?’

‘Thank you, Bruce,’ JARVIS said. ‘I am an Artificial Intelligence, built by Tony Stark. My name is JARVIS. I help with the running of sir’s tower and houses as well as the Iron Man suits.’

Steve pondered this for a moment, ‘So, you're a computer?’

‘You could describe me as such, if you wish. Agents Barton and Coulson have arrived at the tower.’ JARVIS announced.

The trio settled around the expansive breakfast bar, to await the arrival of their colleagues. The first sign of them though were raised voices floating from the corridor.

‘You can check out the roof later.’

‘But, Phil -’

‘Clint, for the love of god, be sociable for once, would you?’

‘Only for you, Phil.’

They heard the soft sound of a kiss before the two men entered the kitchen.

‘Morning.’ Clint greeted them brightly, his hand clasped in Phil’s who offered them a smile.

‘Morning. Tea? Or coffee?’ Bruce offered.

‘What’ve you got?’ Clint asked. Natasha opened the lid of the tin for them. ‘Holy hell.’ Clint blurted when he saw the range.

Phil accepted a cup of tea from Clint before asking about sleeping arrangements.

‘And where the hell is Stark?’ Clint asked.

‘A “super-urgent-end-of-the-world meeting”. Apparently. Something about Asgardian technology.’ Bruce put down his empty cup and offered them a tour.

They all agreed eager to nose around Starks infamous tower a little more. Bruce showed them how to get down to the labs, Tony’s garage and the ‘secret’ bunker as well as the more mundane rooms like the gym, complete with en suite pool/spa and shooting range, and the games/TV space.

‘Did Stark actually create a war room?’ Natasha asked, a single, sculpted eyebrow raised.

‘Yes, although I am unsure as to why sir believed this was necessary.’ JARVIS piped in.

‘Wait, how does this all fit down here?’ Clint asked

Bruce smiled, ‘The tower is built on a disused railway line, a little bit Torchwood maybe, but -’ Bruce shrugged indicating the room around them. No words could really do it justice.

When they reached the bedrooms, all hell broke loose with Clint and Natasha arguing over who got the larger room on the floor beneath Tony and Peppers penthouse suite which was as close as you could get to the roof. Clint eventually won but only because he’d be sharing with Clint and needed the extra space. Steve quietly took the room opposite Bruce leaving Thor a whole floor for when he came to visit.

Things were … awkward to say the least. None of them quite knew where they all stood with the others and they didn’t know how to go about getting to know each other properly. The only ones who were really able to bridge any gaps were Barton and Coulson. Coulson because he was their handler and he kinda had to get along with all of them, and Barton because, well, Bruce and Rogers had both helped him out a helluva lot. Tony, for his part, stayed pretty much hidden away from them all in his lab trying to put Dummy back together.

However, that all changed when Thor and a bunch of aliens turned up in London. Coulson was dispatched to the city to deal with the aftermath while the rest of them watched the story progress on the news.

When Coulson eventually came back from London, Thor came along for the ride.

‘My friends! It is good to see you!’ Thor boomed his arms spread wide when he and Coulson found them in front of the TV. Coulson dropped onto the couch beside Barton who buried a hand in his hair and started massaging at Coulson’s head.

‘It’s good to see you too, Thor.’ Rogers greeted him warmly.

Thor then proceeded to pull every single one of them into a bone crashing hug, even Natasha who gingerly patted Thor’s shoulder.

Thor took a seat on the lounge between Rogers and Bruce and attempted to drag all of them into conversation. Thankfully, he seemed to realise that this was not gonna work.

‘I believe we should play a game.’

‘A game? You sound like Jigsaw.’ Tony muttered. Only tiny bit of his attention was focused on what was happening around him. The rest of him was focused on the new designs for a StarkPhone he was playing with.

‘Jigsaw?’ Rogers asked.

‘You do _not_ want to know.’ Bruce answered before Tony or Barton could pipe up.

‘What kind of game?’ Natasha asked from the comfiest armchair in the Tower, which she’d long ago claimed as her own. Tony certainly wasn't going to be the one to argue with the scary lady over a chair.

‘Lady Darcy introduced me to a game where we must answer the questions asked of us honestly. We could drink whilst playing.’ Thor threw in to entice them.

‘I’m in,’ Tony said jumping up to collect the liquor. When he returned, the others had turned off the TV and had shifted to the floor around the coffee table. Tony slammed the tequila and shot glasses down onto the table and flopped to the ground himself. ‘So, how’re we gonna do this?’

‘We thought we’d take turns asking whoever a question. If you don't want to answer you have to do a shot.’ Bruce explained from his left.

‘Sounds good. Who starts?’

‘I will!’ Thor announced and did a shot himself to start.

To begin with the questions were very simple things but as certain people who could actually get drunk started to get absolutely shit faced the questions became more and more personal.

Tony was sure that the only ones who would remember would be Rogers and Thor, maybe Natasha; that girl could hold her booze, but at least Barton wouldn’t remember some of the stuff Tony admitted to. Like just how big a Captain America fan he’d been as a kid. Thankfully though, he wasn’t the only one admitting to embarrassing things.

Barton admitted how long he’d pinned after Coulson, who in turn had admitted to once punching a priest but, annoyingly, not why; dude was a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.

Bruce told them about losing his virginity in a public bathroom to a girl he’d met at a party and gotten fantastically drunk with.

Thor admitted to several rather nasty things that Tony really hadn’t needed to know especially the part with the Bilgesnipe. Eeugh.

Natasha told them about her first kill that hadn’t gone exactly right but Tony didn't exactly believe her. Sadly there wasn’t enough alcohol in the tower to get her to spill anything cringe-y enough for this game.

And Rogers, well, Rogers told them some of things he’d got up to during the war, which Tony also totally didn’t believe. Captain Spangly-Pants was far too good to blow up a main road _just_ _in case_ the Nazi’s used it.

Whether they were lying or not, Tony knew he probably wouldn't remember half of it but he suspected that wasn’t the point. The point was that the stupid game got them talking; they’d opened up a little and broken the ice enough that, hopefully, their co-habitation would run a little more smoothly from now.


	3. Chapter Three

‘Sir, Captain Rogers is requesting entrance.’

JARVIS carefully kept his voice low, mindful of Tony’s hangover. He’d only been awake for an hour and after last night’s alcohol-fuelled, no-holds-barred game of 20 Questions, and was feeling pretty sorry for himself.

Tony looked up from where his head was pressed against the cool table top to see Rogers standing outside the door looking as though he’d been up for hours. He’d probably even gone for a run already.

‘Let him in.’ he grunted.

Rogers came into the lab and didn't bother trying to hide his awe at what he found. Tony couldn't really blame him. His lab was fucking awesome, okay?

He’d built it from scratch based on his Malibu lab and had designed and redesigned it until everything was perfect. To him, this was a comfort zone, he knew this place, could walk it in his sleep. The open, expansive room with light grey concrete walls, glass doors and lighting which created enough lens-flare to rival a J. J. Abrams movie. The place was gorgeous, stocked with the latest, up-to-date technology available in the States and some that wasn’t.

‘What’s up, Rogers?’ Tony mumbled.

Rogers looked around at him then and gave him a bright smile. ‘I just thought I’d come down to make sure you were alright after last night.’

‘Oh, ‘m fine. Just, y’know, dying.’

‘I doubt that, Tony.’

‘Yeah, well, you can’t get drunk so what would you know?’ Tony rubbed lightly at his temples in a vain attempt to get rid of the fucking pounding.

‘Touché,’ Rogers said, smiling before moving to the remains of Dummy, ‘What’s this?’ He made a move to touch Dummy’s arm.

‘Don’t!’ Tony raced across the lab and put himself in front of his damaged bot. Rogers backed off, hands held up in defence.

‘I’m sorry!’

‘No, it’s, uh, it’s fine,’ Tony scrubbed a hand over his face and forced himself to relax. ‘This is Dummy. He’s a robot, like those two -’ Tony waved a hand to the other bots, ‘- Butterfingers and You. They were damaged when my Malibu place was blown up. I’m still fixin’ Dummy.’

Butterfingers and You had sneaked over to inspect the new person, poking and prodding at Rogers, who seemed a little surprised by the bots’ interest and looked to Tony for reassurance.

‘They won’t hurt you. Unless I tell ‘em too, of course,’ Tony joked. ‘They’re just curious is all.’ He shrugged before addressing the bots. ‘Now, you two, leave him alone. Come on, get lost.’ Tony shooed the bots away.

‘How come you haven’t fixed Dummy yet?’ Rogers asked looking at the bot in question.

‘I made Dummy when I was fifteen and he’s only been updated a couple times since then. So, it's a little - hard to fix ‘im.’

‘Oh, well. I’m sure you can do it.’ Rogers moved away a little, perhaps aware that he was intruding on something personal.

‘Course I can. I’m Tony fucking Stark, genius, billionaire - ’

‘Playboy, philanthropist.’ Rogers finished for him with a sad smile.

Rogers moved back to admire the rest of lab while Tony dusted Dummy off a little and collapsed onto the lounge he kept in the lab.

‘Did you want something else?’

‘Just to talk to you.’

‘Bout what?’

‘I wanted to apologise.’

‘Apologise? What the fuck for?’ Tony asked, rubbing at his temple.

Rogers smiled and passed him the glass of water off one of the benches. Tony pressed the cool glass against his forehead to ease his headache and watched Rogers take a seat on one of the stools.

‘For the things I said to you on the Helicarrier. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any of it, not really.’ Rogers deflated, looking to Tony for forgiveness.

Tony shrugged it off, ‘Hey, don’t give yourself all the credit, I was pretty immature and you kicked me back into place. If anything, _I_ should be thanking _you_ ,’ He smiled. ‘Besides, I said some shit too so, y’know, sorry for that, Rogers.’

‘Forgiven’ Steve said with no hesitation, smiling warmly at him again. ‘And, uh, could I ask you a favour?’

‘A favour?’

‘Please stop calling me Rogers? Makes me feel like we aren’t friends, so I’d prefer it if you called me Steve, please?’

‘We’re totally friends -’ Tony said a little incredulously. ‘- _Steve_.’ He added on.

How could they not be? The guy was far too nice for his own good. No way could Tony really, actually hate the rotten, Hitler-punching, blonde-Adonis idiot.

‘Thank you.’ Steve said with another of those stupid smiles.

‘Yep, sure thing, Stev _ie_.’ Tony tried out the nickname

‘Stevie? Really? That’s what the bullies used to call me.’ Steve flinched slightly.

‘Well, now you’re gonna have good memories with the nick name, huh, Stevie.’ Steve rolled his eyes at Tony but he took it as a win.

‘Somethin’ else, Stevie?’

‘Uh, yeah, my phone. I’m not sure what happened but. Well, here.’ Steve held his phone towards Tony and, glad to have something to do, he grabbed the phone and sat down at his bench to look it over.

‘The hell is this piece of shit? Why are you using this old thing?’ Tony held it up for inspection as he tested a couple of menu options easily getting to grips with the basic functions.

‘SHIELD didn’t want to give me anything to complicated.’ Steve said, defensively.

‘That’s crap. The serum increased your brain function, nothin’s too complicated for Captain America,’ Tony let out a laugh at Steve’s shrug. ‘Well then, I’m gonna have to give you somethin’ better.’

‘I don’t need anything better, Tony. I just need you to fix this one for me.’

‘Which I could do in my sleep but this thing is almost five years old. You’re living in Stark Tower - ’

‘-Avengers Tower.’

‘Shut up. You’re living in _my_ tower and you’re using this useless thing? That’s wrong, Steve. Blasphemy. You can’t live in the most advanced Tower in the world and be usin’ this crappy ass piece o’ shit.’

‘The others don't have Stark phones either.’

‘Bruce does.’ Tony reminded him definitely _not_ pouting.

‘I’m pretty sure you’re the only one who ever really calls him. I know that I don’t have his number at least.’

‘Wait, why don’t you have Brucie’s number?’

‘I asked but he said that he never had his phone on anyway so there was no point. I figured if I ever needed him I could just call you.’

‘Bruce always has his phone on. JARVIS!’ Tony yelled.

‘Sir?’

‘Tell Bruce that I’m givin’ the rest of the Avengers his number.’

‘Shouldn’t that be his choice?’ Steve asked.

‘What?’ Tony stilled at the confrontation.

‘Shouldn’t Bruce have a say in who has his number? He’s been living with us for barely a week, he’ll get around to it.’ Steve shrugged, always the voice of reason.

‘Huh.’ Tony said, perplexed, having never been told to respect someone’s boundaries before by someone he’d actually listen to.

‘Sir? What would you have me do?’ JARVIS asked having waited for confirmation.

‘Nothing, ignore me.’ Tony waved a hand of dismissal in the vague direction of one of JARVIS’s cameras. He looked Steve over with a small smile.

‘What?’ Steve shifted, uncomfortable

‘Nothing’ Tony replied before turning back to the phone. ‘Ah-ha!’

‘What? Tony, what’s wrong?’

‘Nothin’. Just worked out what you’ve done. You messed around with some of the settings, that’s all. Nothin’ bad, easy fix.’ Tony fiddled with the settings Steve had messed up and passed it back.

‘Oh, good, thank you.’ Steve took back the fixed phone.

‘Can I please, pretty please, give you a new one? Please, Stevie, I’ll even teach how to change your settings without screwin’ up the phone.’

‘No, thank you, Tony. This one’s fine.’

‘Pfft, whatever. Keep your crappy phone. See if I care.’ Tony crossed his arms over the light of the arc reactor and pouted at Steve.

‘Well, I’ll let you get back to it,’ Steve stood up, grinning and ignoring Tony’s pouting. ‘See you for dinner, Tony.’

‘Bye, Stevie,’ Tony waited until he knew for sure that Steve was out of hearing range before turning to his bots. ‘Well, guys, what do you think of Steve?’

Butterfingers and You immediately started beeping and whirring at him and waving their arms around. Tony went over to join them, sinking to the floor between them, missing the presence of Dummy.

‘They appear to like Captain Rogers very much, sir.’ JARVIS translated.

‘Yeah, getting that, J,’ Tony rubbed his hands over his bots and let his head fall back against the wall, eyes closed. ‘What about you, JARVIS, what do you think?’

‘I too like the captain. He is a good man and would be a good friend to you.’

‘One that I don’t need to pay or make.’

‘Precisely, sir.’

‘I hate you, J.’

‘Duly noted, sir’

Tony chuckled at that but chose not to respond like the mature adult he was. Instead, he kept patting at Butterfingers and You, trying to ignore the empty spot in front of him that belonged to his oldest bot, his oldest friend.

JARVIS’ mention of paying or building his friends was depressingly accurate. He’d made the bots he was surrounded by. He’d built JARVIS off the memories of his dead butler. Pepper had been his PA and now worked as his CEO. Rhodey, well, they’d started off as friends at MIT but now he acted as liaison between Tony, Stark Industries and the military so was _technically_ now an employee.

But Bruce and the others. He definitely hadn’t built them, and he _definitely_ wasn’t paying them. Though they were livin’ in his tower so maybe - No, Nope, that wasn't payment and not his choice.

So Bruce and Steve and Thor and even Natasha, Barton, and Agent were actual, proper, friends.

Tony grinned like a child.

That was, surprisingly, not a terrible thought. Wonderful, in fact.

People to care about and lose.


	4. Chapter Four

Tony sat slumped in his chair, designing a new engine system for the Helicarrier and ignoring everything around him. After Steve had apologised the other day he had stayed in the lab to draw while Tony fixed a problem in one of Clint’s new trick arrows. Since then, it had become almost routine for them to work alongside each other in the lab. The transition from seclusion to this new companionship went unnoticed by Tony, until it didn’t.

‘Tony.’

Tony looked up at his name to find Bruce smiling down at him and pointing at the bowl of curry which had materialised before him.

‘Oh, thanks, Brucie.’

‘Sure thing, Tony.’ Bruce took his own seat beside him but waited to make sure Tony began eating before starting in himself. Despite his doubts, the curry turned out to be good. Tony hummed his appreciation and smiled at Bruce.

They ate in silence, listening to the soft music emanating from the radio.

Friendship had crept up on Tony. From legends to colleagues to house mates, the progression had been slow but sure, and Tony suddenly had friends he could count on. Friends that he was able to confide in when Pepper just wasn't able to understand the exhilaration of a fight and the heartbreak of looking at the chaos that surrounded them.

Steve had offered a calming presence on several occasions when Tony had felt himself drowning beneath it all. Staying by his side, Steve would talk about how different thing were and how he’d guided the Commandos through the trials of war. Tony, in turn, had patiently educated Steve on things he’d missed out on (that he hadn't yet researched).

‘You want seconds?’ Bruce looked up from his curry when Tony began licking the bowl.

Tony stopped mid-lick. ‘Oh, dear God, yes.’ He said grinning like a child.

‘There’s still some in the pot, Tony.’ Steve informed him from across the table.

‘Excellent.’ Tony eagerly ladled more curry into his bowl when a bright light blinded them.

‘What the fuck was - is that a letter?’ Tony picked up an envelope that had materialised on the table and held it up. The thick, parchment was embossed with a clear image of Thor’s hammer.

‘Tis a letter.’ Thor announced taking it from Tony.

‘That’s what I said.’ He muttered beneath his breath and watched as Thor ripped open the letter and withdrew a piece of honest to God parchment.

‘It’s from my father. He is requesting my presence in Asgard,’ Thor abruptly jumped to his feet in surprise almost knocking the table over. ‘He says that the Norns have gone missing. I must go, my friends, I am sorry.’

Before Thor could race off and disappear to Asgard, Steve laid a hand on the god’s shoulder to stop him. ‘Now, wait a moment, Thor. How serious is this?’

‘It is very serious, Steven. Without the Norns guarding the Urdarbrunnr and caring for Yggdrasil the world could end.’

‘Did anyone understand a word of that?’ Tony said to Barton who shook his head, eyebrows raised.

‘Well,’ Steve began clearly not understanding what was going either. ‘We’ll come with you.’

‘It will be very dangerous.’

‘Wonderful.’ Bruce sighed.

‘That doesn’t matter, Thor. We’re a team and we help each other out. So we’re coming with you. Now, how do we get to Asgard?’

‘Heimdall will bring us to Asgard through the Bifrost. We have thirty minutes to gather what we need.’

‘Then let’s get moving.’

The team scattered to their various rooms to gather what they’d need. Tony raced to his lab to grab the briefcase suit and a small tool kit for repairs and then took the elevator up to the penthouse to pack actual clothes and shit. Plus a couple of weapons he wouldn't normally use. Just in case.

He was attempting to carry his luggage and attach the briefcase's handcuff to his wrist when he ran headfirst into Barton, sending Barton's phone to the floor.

'Fuck's sake, Stark,' Barton huffed and picked up his phone to continue the conversation. ‘I know it’s short notice but what else can we do? We gotta help Thor get the Norns back or whatever. - Yeah, yeah, I know, we’ll be fine. Promise. - No jumping off tall buildings, you got it. - No idea. But from the sounds of it, we’re gonna be gone for a while. ‘Sides you need a break from dealing with us crazy people - Whatever you say, babe. Love you, too.’

‘Aww, Barton, you sap.’ He smirked.

‘Bite me, Stark. Shouldn’t you be callin’ Pepper?’

‘Already done it.’ Tony hadn’t, in fact, done it but JARVIS would let her know so hopefully all’s well that ends well.

‘Are you seriously handcuffing yourself to your suit?’

‘Yes. Obviously,’ Tony stood up and turned to their resident god. ‘How much longer?’

‘Heimdall! We are ready!’ Thor yelled to the ceiling.

‘Um, who’s he talking to?’Barton asked.

‘Heimdall, clearly.’ Natasha informed him.

They were suddenly engulfed in a trippy rainbow tunnel and pulled up before landing in front of a man in full golden armour standing at a pedestal. Thor greeted the man like an old friend and introduced the rest of them to Heimdall.

‘Question. How does that … thing work?’

‘Thing?’ The man - Heimdall - asked.

Tony flapped his hands at the golden walls and pedestal. ‘This thing. The rainbow thing.’

‘The Bifrost?’ Thor asked. ‘It may be best not to ask, my friend. I do not think you would like the answer.’

‘What’s the answer?’

‘Magic.’ Heimdall answered staring over at him with gold eyes.

‘Oh, for fuck’s - magic does not exist. It’s science. And this bridge thingy - ’

‘Bifrost.’

‘Whatever, is science. I dunno how but it is. Bruce. Science.’ Tony pointed over at Bruce who was looking through the doorway at what was probably Asgard.

‘Probably.’ Was Bruce’s very articulate answer.

‘Shut up, Bruce.’ Tony answered with all his genius.

‘There are horses awaiting you.’ Heimdall informed them jerking his chin towards the door.

Thor led them through the doorway and they were treated to their first look at the world of Asgard. The city stretched high above them leading to the spire of the tallest building, the setting sun glistening against the silver and gold buildings. Tony did not doubt that they were in a different place but to believe that they were on a different planet, a different realm was a little more difficult. His sciencey mind simply would not let him believe any of it was real. He looked over at Bruce to see if he was having the same trouble. Bruce had switched his focus from the city to the bridge they were standing on. Tony copied him and immediately felt a twitch beginning in his left eye as he watched the colours racing along the length of the bridge.

‘Fuck’s sake.’ He muttered under his breath. This was getting ridiculous.

‘Come, my friends, we must hurry.’ Thor led them over to a bunch of horses which they were apparently meant to ride. Yeah, not fucking likely.

‘Ah, I don't do horses.’

‘Animals don't generally like me.’ Bruce was standing behind Tony looking at the horses warily.

‘These horses will not fear you, doctor.’ Thor led one of the horses, a palomino, over to Bruce. The horse nuzzled at Bruce’s hand before making a huffing sound and pressing in closer for evil petting purposes.

‘You’ve never ridden a horse before, have you?’ Steve asked quietly beside Tony.

‘No. Why the fuck would I ride a horse?’

‘Because you’re rich. Isn’t that what rich folks do?’ Steve gave Tony an innocent smile. Tony wasn’t buying it for a second.

‘Shut up, Steve,’ Tony bit out. ‘When the fuck did you learn to ride a horse?’

‘During the war. I had to - ’

‘Stop. Just, stop.’ Tony said. He didn't need to hear anymore stories about war hero Steve. The horrible man in question gently grasped Tony’s wrist and led him to a black horse and held his hand out for the horse’s inspection. Tony closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable bite even as he tried to pull out of Steve’s hold.

‘Tony, relax.’ Steve whispered.

‘Nope,’ Tony tried to pull away from the crafty creature but Steve stepped behind him and rested his other hand on Tony’s hip. ‘No, horses bad.’

‘Horses good,’ Steve argued. ‘Horses are our friends, Tony.’

‘‘Cept for when they bite.’

‘I don't think Asgardian horses bite.’ Steve suddenly grabbed Tony and forced him up into the saddle. Steve held the reins of Tony’s horse and led him along behind him and his own white horse.

It wasn't a long trip, thank fuck, but Tony was too focused on staying upright to look around. Or even notice when they were off the horses and standing in front of Odin, a.k.a Thor's dad. None of this clicked until he was abruptly forced back onto the fucking horse for another horrible trip somewhere else. He definitely wasn’t liking all this magic and riding horses crap. Tony eventually felt something grasp his wrist and looked down to find Steve smiling up at him. It wasn't until Tony had clambered off the horse did he realise that they were standing in front of a golden gate inlaid with gems.

‘Where are we?’ Tony asked.

‘Yggdrasil. The world tree.’ Steve whispered back.

The first thing that struck Tony about the tree was its size. The tree could easily dwarf the Empire State building and probably even the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. He wasn’t sure what exactly he’d been expecting from the tree but this was definitely not it. The roots dug deep into the earth and at the base of each stood a well. Beneath the root on the far left was what looked like a large rabbit hole. From the hole spilled forth a thick fog that hid whatever was down there. Wrapped around that same root he could just see a giant snake that was watching them with a wicked smirk. Tony hadn’t known that snakes could smirk and it was kinda freakin’ him out.

Amongst the canopy of the branches Tony could see four deer nibbling at the leaves and a squirrel racing down to the snake. Scientifically, Tony knew that what he was seeing was just not possible no matter how he looked at it. And what he noticed next took his breath away.

On the lower most branches, Tony could see worlds. Not literally, of course. It was more like there were portals resting above the leaves but through them he could see different realms. Thor had once explained to them about the realms but until this moment he had not fully understood.

Now though he could see these different worlds protected, of all things, by a tree.

Towards the middle of the tree was the most surprising thing. It was another world but surrounding it was an ocean and in the ocean was a giant sea serpent.

‘What the fuck is that middle one?’ Clint breathed in awe.

‘That is Midgard,’ Thor grinned. ‘It is where we have just come from.’

‘Like fuck it is.’ Bruce, _Bruce_ , said.

Thor laughed at Bruce’s uncharacteristic outburst and clapped him on the shoulder. ‘I know that it is hard to believe, my friend, but that is your home.’

‘Not possible.’ Steve said.

‘It is entirely possible.’ An Asian man stepped away from one of the wells accompanied by a beautiful woman, a fat guy, and a blonde model.

Thor greeted the four of them warmly and then turned to the Avengers. ‘My friends, this is Hogun, Volstagg, Fandral, and the lady Sif. My friends, these are the Avengers. Captain Steven Rogers, Clint Barton, Doctor Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanov, and Tony Stark.’

The two groups greeted each other and Tony could already see that a friendship between Natasha and Sif wouldn't end well. He decided that it was in everyone's best interest for him to cut in before they could make any plans that would end with painful deaths.

‘So, what’s with the sea snake?’ Tony pointed to the sea snake that was in the massive ocean around Midgard biting its own tail.

‘That is the Midgard Serpent, Jormungand. It guards the waters surrounding your world. It is the child of - ’ Hogun stopped in his explanation and glanced at Thor who nodded at him and went to inspect the well closest to them. ‘It is the child of the giantess Angrboda and Loki and upon the day of Ragnarok he and Thor are destined to destroy each other.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Tony held his hands up to stop the explanation. ‘You’re telling me that Loki, Thor’s brother, has a sea snake for a kid?’

‘Along with a daughter who resides in Niflheim and a wolf-son, Fenrir, yes.’ Hogun stated.

‘Of course he does.’ Clint muttered looking up at the snake.

‘Anyway, what the hell is going on and what are we supposed to do?’ Tony asked having missed Odin’s explanation earlier.

‘The Norns are missing,’ Sif said as she led them over to the well. Tony couldn’t help it as his eyes drifted just a little lower than perhaps they needed to. Totally worth it though. Pepper didn't need to know. ‘The Norns are three women who guard the Urdarbrunnr - ' Sif indicated the well behind her. '- And ensure that Yggdrasil does not rot away by pouring mud and water from the well over its roots. Without them the tree is dying and the fates of men and gods are being left unchecked. We are doing all that we can to protect the tree and the well ourselves but we cannot do this forever.’

‘We must find the Norns and bring them back no matter the cost.’ Thor announced, deciding for all of them.

Tony suddenly had a bad feeling about this.


	5. Chapter Five

‘We should begin with Hel.’

They were grouped around the unguarded well staring at the slowly rotting roots of the world. Thor and the Asgardians had been debating for the last twenty minutes what they should do to find these Norn women. Tony had been observing the tree, the animals, and the portals. He wondered if they could somehow get some samples from the tree and the wells. For science. Also, Foster would lose her fucking mind if they brought some stuff back.

‘Why are we going to hell?’ Barton asked.

‘Hel is the daughter of Loki and is the ruler of Helheim, land of the dead. Those who have not died a death worthy of Valhalla,’ Thor told them. ‘The entrance to her world lies there by the root and the Hvergelmir well.’ Thor pointed to the misty portal.

‘Oh, goody, let’s go visit the land of the dead. Sounds like fun.’ Tony intoned darkly.

‘The abduction of the Norns is something that Hel would do. She wishes to see an end to the tree and she and the dragon, Nidhog, will do all they can. Hel is a good place to begin.’ Hogun told them.

‘I don't like you. Nat, I don’t like him.’ Clint turned to Natasha.

Natasha patted Clint’s head like a dog and said ‘Neither do I’.

Tony frowned at their general weirdness and went to inspect the portal. He could not work out how the damn thing worked. He waved some of the fog away so that he could see into the portal. All he could really see was darkness and he could feel the cold pouring out. Probably not a good sign of things to come.

‘Well, this should be fun,’ he muttered to himself and crouched down beside it. ‘Wormhole. Fall in and end up somewhere else. Easy, just science, just a wormhole.’

‘A wormhole?’ Steve crouched down beside him. ‘How so?’

‘A wormhole is hypothetical but that’s what the rainbow bridge thing is,’ Tony explained waving away more fog. ‘Like what I flew the missile into. It’s a tunnel where both ends are at different points in spacetime.’

‘Spacetime?’

‘Space and time woven into a continuum. A single point of contact. We’ll watch _Back to the Future_ when we get home. It’s all there. Point is, it's a wormhole.’

‘Huh, so science.’ Steve smiled at the vague understanding he’d accomplished.

‘Exactly, Capsicle, science.’ Tony grinned at him and they rejoined the others were he announced ‘Wormhole’.

‘Wormhole?’ Bruce asked looking over at the portal. ‘Makes sense. The portals connect two points in spacetime. An Einstein-Rosen bridge.’

‘For the Bifrost, too.’ Tony pointed out.

‘Definitely. I want to take some readings.’ Bruce took some gadgets out of his satchel and began to take some reading of the air quality.

‘Oh, Brucie, now you’re talking,’ Tony wrapped an arm around Bruces’ shoulders and squeezed. ‘We’ll have to grab some readings for Foster, too.’ Tony added.

‘Agreed.’ Bruce muttered, focused on the device.

‘Alright, so how do we do this?’ Steve, in full Cap mode, asked.

‘We simply walk into the entrance amongst the roots.’ Thor said and did just that.

'Fucking hell.' Clint swore and followed after Thor. A seemingly unaffected Natasha and a nervous but determined Steve went after him.

‘Shall we, Bruce?’

‘This is going to end badly.’

‘Probably.’ Tony led Bruce over and together they stepped in.

The cold was the first thing Tony noticed. It seeped into his bones and chilled him to his core. He could feel his mind and body slowing down as if he was going into suspended animation. Not the most calming thought.

The cold and darkness were dragging Tony back to a cave and being held under water. A desperate tug on his hand reminded him that he was clasping Bruce’s wrist. The tug served to remind him that Bruce would be faring so much worse than he was.

As suddenly as they had stepped through the portal they were deposited on hard ground. Tony heard a pained grunt from Bruce and shifted his attention away from the pain in his own hands and knees to crawl over to Bruce.

'Bruce? Hey, Brucie, come on, look at me, buddy.' Tony gently forced the man to look at me and barely contained a worried frown at the green tinge to Bruce's eyes. He motioned behind him hoping that Barton would notice and come to help as well.

‘Hey, Bruce, what’s up?’ Barton asked as he fell to his knees with them.

It took a few minutes before the two of them were able to drag Bruce away from the brink. When they finally did, they helped Bruce to his feet and joined the rest of their team. It was only then that Tony looked around at where they were.

The world he found himself in was unlike anything he’d seen on Earth. Niflheim was cold and dark and nothing but bare rock. Tony could easily see a daughter of Loki living here.

‘So how do we find your niece?’

Thor sent Tony a surprisingly hard glare and pointed to a jagged rock sticking out of the ground. ‘Helheim is at the top of that mountain. We will find her there. It will not be easy to reach her. She will already know that we’re here.’

‘How’s she gonna stop us?’ Barton asked notching an arrow.

‘It will depend on how she feels today. Be careful and take care to step where I do.’

As Thor started forward, the others followed behind him, and Tony checked the clasps on his briefcase, just in case.

It didn’t take them long to reach the bottom of the jagged mountain and they took a moment to stare up at it. A harsh wind that threatened to blow them right off the mountain side and into the black void beside it picked up. As they began trudging up the mountain Tony could’ve sworn he heard whispering in the wind. Glancing ahead, he could see Thor struggling against the wind sweeping his big hands around to dispel the fog.

‘Tony.’

Tony stopped and spun around searching for the source. When he saw nothing, he continued walking even as Barton stopped up ahead to look around.

‘Is anyone else hearing things?’ Barton asked.

‘‘tis Hel,’ Thor announced coming to a stop. ‘She is attempting to force us back. The voices are those we’ve lost.’

‘Tony.’

Tony stumbled back when Obadiah appeared before him as a wisp of memory.

‘Obie?’

The image of his dead former friend and mentor stared him down. ‘You killed me, Tony.’

'Course I fucking killed you, crazy bastard.' Tony was vaguely aware that the others were talking to what he assumed were their own visions. ‘You had me kidnapped by a terrorist.’

‘You killed me, Tony.’ Obie-ghost repeated.

‘What are you, stuck on a loop? Fuck, you’re hopeless.’

‘No, Tony. You are the hopeless one. You couldn’t even save yourself from poisoning. You had to rely on your father for help. Again. I don’t know why these people trust you, Tones. Can’t even save yourself.’ Obie-ghost whispered creepily.

As Obie-ghost kept talking at him, Tony felt himself sinking to his knees under the weight of his words. Obie-ghost was right. He was hopeless. The Avengers had absolutely no reason to like him, let alone trust him. He was nothing more than an alcoholic mechanic and yet he was failing Dummy. Dummy, the bot he’d created at fifteen and had looked after his entire life, and he was failing him. What use was he if he couldn’t even -

‘Tony? Come on, get up.’

Tony started at Natasha’s voice and allowed her to haul him to his feet and shakes away the doubts and Obadiah’s words.

‘Help me.’ Natasha indicated Bruce, who was on the ground breathing heavily with green tinged eyes.

They help him to calm down and focus on where they are and why. The green recedes and Bruce lets Tony and Natasha help him stand.

'Natasha, how did you break free of Hel's spell work?' Thor was pale and his white knuckle grip on Mjolnir's handle had Tony worried.

'I didn't care about them when they were alive, so why should I care about them now?' Natasha hauled the woman, Hel, onto a throne of metal and bone. Hel, with her dark hair and green attire, looked like a daughter of Loki.

Thor rested Mjolnir on Hel’s lap and stepped back to allow Natasha the chance to wake the goddess. She took obvious delight in slapping the woman into consciousness. Her bright green eyes shone brightly as she jerked awake and glared at them before focusing on Thor.

‘Dear uncle, how long it has been since I have had the pleasure of your dear company.’

‘I have no time for pleasantries, niece. We are here about the Norns.’

‘What have those hags gotten themselves into now, dear uncle?’

‘They are missing.’

‘How unfortunate for you.’ Hel gave what Tony assumed was meant to be a smile but which actually looked more like a sneer.

‘Did you have something to do with it or not?’ Steve looked distinctly uncomfortable. Tony briefly wondered what he’d seen before deciding that he probably didn’t want to know.

‘Captain Steven Rogers, a man out of time. Tell me, how is your guilt over your love’s death?’

Steve visibly paled at Hel’s question and took half a step back. Barton lifted his bow and pressed the tip of the arrow against Hel’s forehead.

‘Answer his question.’

‘The archer,’ Hel laughed. ‘My father spoke of you to me.’

‘Enough, niece,’ Thor interrupted before Hel could take it too far. ‘Tell us what you know.’

‘I know nothing about it, uncle. Though I am glad they are gone.’

Thor stared at her for a moment before lifting Mjolnir off her and herding them all away. ‘Come. I am certain that she does not know anything. We must leave before she decides to do something else to us.’

‘What else could she do?’ Tony asked as he hurried along in Thor’s wake.

‘She could set her subjects against us. You cannot kill the dead, Man of Iron.’

‘S’pose not.’ Tony muttered.

‘I assume you know how we can get the fuck outta here?’ Barton asked. Tony ignored the slight tremor in his voice, though he couldn't really blame him.

‘Of course. Heimdall!’ Thor yelled and the bright light of the rainbow bridge enveloped them again and dumped them back in front of the world tree. Tony took the opportunity to focus on trying to get past what Obie-ghost had made him believe, however briefly.

The rest of his team, besides Natasha, were obviously trying to do the same thing. Natasha was instead rubbing her hand back and forth over Barton’s shoulders and murmuring to him.

‘Well, that was fun.’ Tony said straightening up from his half crouch.

‘Ten out of ten, would recommend.’ Barton agreed, sarcasm dripping from his words.

‘What now?’ Bruce asked resting a light hand on Thor’s forearm to gain his attention.

‘I, I do not know.’ Thor admitted quietly. The god was still looking a little pale and his grip on Mjolnir hadn’t loosened.

The rotting of Yggdrasil was far more noticeable and he was only now beginning to fully understand what this rot could mean for them.

'Thor, what could happen if we don't find the Norns?' Steve was obviously trying to hide how affected he'd been by their trip to visit Hel but no one was gonna call him on it.

‘Ragnarok.’ Thor replied.

‘Yeah, Hogun said that before, but what is Ragnarok exactly?’ Steve asked.

‘‘is the end of the world,’ Thor gently ran a hand over the trunk of the tree. ‘It is the last battle between the Aesir, Asgardian gods, and the Jotuns, Frost Giants. We will receive clear signs of its beginning though. The death of Balder and the crowing of three red cocks to the dead of Niflheim, the giants, and Asgardians. Heimdall will blow his horn to warn those in Valhalla.’

‘Hogun said that you and the Midgard Serpent would kill each other?’ Steve asked gently. Thor turned to them and smiled.

‘Yes, my friend. Jormungand and I are destined to destroy each other,’ Thor looked up at where they could just see part of the sea snake. ‘The wolf Fenrir, Loki’s son, will break free of his chains and he will kill Odin Allfather. It was Loki's destiny to betray the Aesir and he and Heimdall would have killed each other. After all this, the fire god Surtur will set fire to the nine realms and from the ashes a new, more beautiful world would rise.’

Silence followed Thor’s description. Tony tried to rectify this description with his own, albeit limited, belief system. It wasn’t working.

‘So, the tree rotting is part of that?’ Clint asked. ‘Yes. The destruction of the tree is one of the many signs.’

‘Oookaaayyy. So, get the Norn ladies back and we stop Ragnarok?’ Tony asked looking towards the root of the tree. The bark was peeling away and tendrils of black were snaking their way up the trunk of the tree.

‘No, friend Tony. Ragnarok will happen. There is nothing we can do to stop it.’

‘Fantastic,’ Tony looked to Thor’s stricken face still turned up towards the sea snake. ‘Well, we’ll deal with that when it comes. For now, what’re we gonna do about the Norns?’

Thor gave Tony a grateful smile. ‘We should speak with the animals. They see many things though they are difficult to speak too.’

'Let's give it a shot anyway.' Steve gave them a strained smile and, while the others looked to Thor for guidance, Tony squeezed Steve's forearm. Steve smiled at him and they followed after Thor as he headed towards the squirrel thing.


	6. Chapter Six

‘Now, now, Thor Odinsson, you know that I have far better things to do than watch over the lovely Norns.’

The squirrel, Rata-something, was perched on a low hanging branch, his bushy tail flicking back and forth. It had taken them almost an hour to find the squirrel and then get him stay still long enough for talking. Which was all kinds of weird. Animals weren’t meant to talk and Tony couldn’t be bothered to work this one out. Easier to just accept it. Possibly. He’ll let you know.

Either way, the squirrel was really annoying.

‘Surely you must have seen something, Ratatosk.’ Thor tried again to get the stupid rat to talk.

‘I assure you, great Odinsson, I saw nothing. But, I do know that the dragon Nidhog has been saying some very interesting things about the eagle atop mighty Yggdrasil.’

‘Ratatosk, I have no interest in what the dragon and the eagle are saying. My only concern is bringing the Norns back.’

‘And I saw nothing, Lord Thor, greatest of the gods.’ Ratatosk was trying to appease Thor. Tony could’ve written odes to how bad of an idea that was.

‘You insult me, squirrel, and my fellow gods.’ Thor rumbled. Tony glanced up towards the Asgardian sky and saw thunder clouds rolling in.

‘Humble apologies, my lord.’

Seeing a squirrel bow to an Asgardian thunder god was possibly the most trippy thing Tony had ever seen. Well, it made the top five, seven? Tony had the sudden, ridiculous worry that he was actually laid up in SHIELD medical somewhere in a coma or something.

‘Of course,’ Thor reached out and pressed the tip of his index finger to the squirrel’s head. ‘You are forgiven for your insult, Ratatosk.’

‘Thank you, my lord,’ the squirrel straightened up and morphed its face into something that Tony figured was a smirk. And was also incredibly creepy. ‘Nidhog has been calling the almighty eagle - ’

‘For fuck’s sake.’ Barton, apparently sick of this, fell back on what he knew best and notched an arrow to point at the squirrel’s head.

‘Pointy.’ The squirrel squeaked, eyes crossed to stare at the arrow head.

‘Do you know anything or not?’ Barton asked, pulling his bow string taut.

‘No.’

‘Can you make a suggestion then?’

‘Nidhog. He gnaws upon the roots so he may have seen.’ Ratatosk pointed off to his right towards where they’d last seen the serpent.

‘Thank you for your cooperation.’ Barton said putting his arrow back into his quiver and collapsed his bow.

‘You are so very welcome, great warrior of Midgard.’ Ratatosk scampered back up the tree to escape them.

‘Well, that was annoying.’ Bruce muttered watching Barton stalk over to where the serpent thing was.

‘Alright, let’s talk to a dragon.’

…

‘I did not see.’

Nidhog was fucking creepy.

The serpent (or dragon, if you believed Thor) was large enough to wrap around the tree and was staring down at them from where he was gnawing at the trunk. Thor had tried to stop the green serpent from doing this and had received a bite on the hand for his trouble.

‘You will forgive me if I do not believe you.’ Thor rumbled holding his hand out to Bruce who was looking over the bleeding wound.

‘And you will forgive me if I have nothing to say to you.’ Nidhog went to take another chunk from the tree but Steve swung himself up onto the branch and got his shield between Nidhog and the tree. ‘You should not get in my way, soldier.’

‘We’re not gonna let you eat the tree in front of us.’

The serpent went to bite the tree again, but Steve slammed the edge of his shield down just behind the head of the serpent-dragon. Just hard enough to keep it in place without decapitating the damn thing.

‘You’d better tell ‘im what you know. Cap doesn’t like to be kept waiting.’ Tony told the severely pissed off serpent-dragon.

‘I do not know what happened to the Norns. Nor do I care. With them gone, there is no one to repair the damage I do to the tree. Besides,’ the serpent-dragon beared his fangs to them. ‘I am far too busy feasting upon the corpses of those destined for Niflheim.’

‘That’s gross.’ Barton muttered.

‘Thank you for your help, Nidhog,’ Steve said quickly jumping up off the branch and herding them away. ‘Bruce, how’s Thor’s hand?’

‘I’m not sure,’ Bruce admitted as they sat with the Warriors and Sif. ‘I’ve dealt with snake bites before but I don’t know anything about Nidhog.’

‘The dragon is not venomous.’ Thor’s gaze was fixed wholly upon the well. Tony took a seat beside the god and rested a hand on Thor’s clenched fist. The god breathed out and slowly relaxed.

‘Good.’ Bruce accepted a bowl of water from Volstagg and began carefully cleaning Thor’s hand.

‘Thor? What should we do next?’ Natasha asked the god lightly.

‘I’m not sure. I cannot think of anyone who would wish to abduct the Norns apart from those we have spoken to.’

‘Seriously no one else?’ Barton asked as he sat cross legged on the floor.

‘I can think of no one.’ Thor reiterated miserably.

They fell silent to allow Thor and the other Asgardians a chance to think over their next step. Tony watched Steve stand away from the rest of them looking up at the tree. He could almost see the man’s fingers itching for paper and charcoal to sketch out the incredible tree they found themselves beneath.

‘Thor Odinsson?’

The soft voice caught their attention and they looked up into the tree to see, of all things, four deer.

‘Kind deer! It is good to see you all.’ Thor’s soft smile and softer words surprised Tony. He’d never, ever heard the Thunder God speak so softly before. Tony’d been pretty sure that Thor only had two sound levels: booming and angry booming.

‘And you, Thunder God,’ one of the deer seemed to be the leader of this particular foursome and was standing half step ahead of the others. Tony marvelled at the simplistic beauty of the creatures and made a mental reminder to never watch _Bambi_ again. ‘We did not see what happened to the Norns, but, we would suggest that you speak with Mimir. He may not have seen what happened to them but he may be able to help.’

‘Thank you, gentle deer. We will do as you say.’ Thor gave the deer a small bow and they bounded away.

‘What’s up with the deer?’ Barton asked.

‘They are gentle beings that run along the branches of the world tree and eat the buds that grow. They represent the four winds.’

‘Of course they do,’ Tony sighed, finally giving up on trying to understand any of this shit. ‘Who’s Mimer?’

‘Mimir,’ Thor corrected turning towards another well in the distance. ‘He is the wisest of the gods and he guards the Mimisbrunnr, the third well of Yggdrasil. Mimir was decapitated by the Vanir and his head was sent back to Odin, who preserved his head and set him to guard over the well. Many years ago, during the last battle in the war between my father and the Frost Giants, Odin went to Mimir for guidance. He was forced to sacrifice his eye so that he could drink for the well and gain the knowledge he required.’

‘I wonder if that’s what happened to Fury’s eye.’ Tony muttered to himself.

‘So let’s go see him.’ Barton said.

‘He may demand something in return.’

‘So we’ll work that out if we need to.’ Steve said, coming forward and motioning for the Thor to lead the way.

When they reached the well, Tony wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting but, yet _again_ , this was not it. Sitting on the rim of the well as a head. An actual decapitated head.

The head, probably Mimir, didn't look very impressed with their presence at his well. ‘Thor Odinsson. To what do I owe this most wonderful pleasure?’

Tony promptly decided that he didn't like this guy.

‘We need your help, Mimir. The Norns - ’

‘Have gone missing. Yes, I am aware. You cannot think that I am responsible?’ The head sneered nastily at Thor.

‘No, no, of course not,’ Thor hastily assured him. ‘I merely wondered if you knew something that could help us to locate them and bring them back.’

‘I may have seen something but I do not see why I should tell you, Odinsson.’

‘The Norns must - ’

‘Be returned so they may be chained back to the well.’

‘The Norns guard the well by choice.’

‘As do I apparently.’ Mimir sneered again.

‘Sir, please, if you know something would you please tell us what you know?’ Steve, ever the peace keeper, asked.

‘I could but I won’t. Not without some help from you first.’        

‘Help? What may we do for you, wise Mimir?’

‘Odin’s eye has been stolen from my well. You will return it to me and I shall tell you all I know.’

‘Who took the eye and how?’ Thor asked.

‘It was three Jotun’s. One of them held me as the other two reached into the waters and stole the eye. I do not know how they got into Asgard but it does not matter. Bring it back and I will tell you what happened to the Norns.’

‘Very well. We will find the Allfather’s eye and return it to your well.’

‘I wish for some insurance, Thunder God. One of you must stay with me.’

‘I’ll stay.’ Tony offered up. He wasn't particularly interested in dealing with a bunch of giants.

‘Tony, are you sure?’ Thor asked.

‘Positive. You lot have fun with Frost Giants. I’ll just sit here in the shade beneath the nice big tree. Me and Mimir here are gonna have some fun.’

‘If you’re sure.’ Steve was giving Tony his very best _I-am-very-concerned-about-you_ look.

Tony waved them all off and watched as they entered Jotunheim.

‘Well, Mimmy, looks like it’s just you and me.’

‘Indeed it is, Tony Stark.’


	7. Chapter Seven

It had been almost forty minutes since the team had passed through the portal to Jotunheim, leaving Tony at the edge of the well. He was officially bored.

‘What is attached to your wrist?’ Mimir’s head asked.

Still baffled by the idea of a disembodied talking head, Tony answered, ‘It’s one of my suits. Armour that I wear. So how come you took Odin’s eye in the first place?’

‘He wished to drink from the well so that he may gain the wisdom and knowledge needed to defeat the Jotuns.’ It answered simply.

‘So naturally you take his eye. That’s kinda weird. Why not a toe, or something?’

‘What use is a toe?’

‘Keeps you balanced,’ Tony glanced down at the beared head. ‘Well, assuming you’ve got a body for said toes to be attached too.’

‘Yes, I am aware of what a toe is used for. But what good is a toe to a god of wisdom. A toe does not see nor hear nor speak nor think. An eye, though, and eye sees things and so I took his eye.’

‘Weird.’ Tony re-stated.

‘Too you, perhaps. To me, to Asgardians, it is completely natural.’

‘Weird.’ Tony said again.

Mimir scowled at him. ‘I am the god of communication, knowledge, wisdom, and prophecy. I am the wisest of the Aesir and you, Midgardian with your suit of armour, are nothing compared to me.’

‘The god of communication, seriously? Never heard of you, more of a title role, is it?’ Tony grinned down at the god. He supposed that he was meant to feel insulted, but no way was he gonna let a disembodied head insult him.

‘Communication is the cornerstone of civilised society. Without it you could not communicate your feelings nor your ideas.’

‘I’m an inventor. I’d come up with somethin’.’

‘I doubt it, you useless Midgardian. Without us, without the Aesir, you would be nothing. Midgardians are dim-witted and you could not have achieved anything without the help of gods. You are beneath me, human, and I am no more than a head.’

‘You’re not a very nice person.’ Tony informed the nothing-but-a-head god.

‘No, I suppose, I am not. However, you are merely insurance for your friends. And it is high time you learnt how unimportant you are in comparison to the rest of your kind and how unimportant compared to the Aesir.'

Tony opened his mouth to speak when, somehow, the head hopped forward and bit Tony’s thigh. Hard.

‘Shit!’ Tony exclaimed as he lost balance and fell back into the water.

The water swirled up around him and Tony frantically tried to swim back up to the surface. But the weight of the briefcase attached to his wrist dragged him down further, sapping his strength. Panic began to set in as he flipped in the water and saw a light beneath him. Tony momentarily forgot the need to breathe when he fell into the light and found himself floating above a scene.

_A beautiful woman with brown, shoulder length hair was sitting up in a hospital bed as a nurse wheeled in a cot transporting a new born baby. A man was sitting in a chair in the corner writing something out on a pad of paper. The nurse pushed her cot over beside the woman’s bed._

_‘How are you feeling, Maria?’_

_‘Ready to hold my son,’ Maria Stark smiled at the nurse and smoothed down her blankets. ‘Howard, are you coming over?’_

_Howard Stark looked up from his pad before sighing and moving into the chair beside his wife’s bed._

_‘Here we are.’_

_The nurse passed the small bundle to Maria who held the newborn Anthony E. Stark close to her chest._

_‘Isn’t he beautiful, Howard?’ Maria said breathlessly, clearly enamoured with her new son._

_‘He looks like a baby, Maria. Just like every other baby out there.’_

_‘Oh, hush, he’s beautiful.’_

_‘I’ll leave you two alone with your son,’ the nurse said as she began to retreat. ‘Just call if you need anything.’_

_‘Thank you,’ Maria murmured barely paying attention to anything but her baby boy. ‘Hello, Anthony, my beautiful boy.’ Maria lightly ran a finger over baby Anthony’s chubby cheek._

_‘He can’t understand you.’_

_‘That isn’t the point, Howard. I’m sure you’re mother spoke to you when you were first born. This child is your son, Howard.’_

_‘You know, Maria, I’m not so sure.’ Howard was watching his wife’s face, a sneer on his own._

_‘Fuck you, Howard.’ Maria brushed a kiss over the baby’s forehead and forced Howard to hold him. Howard stared down at the baby in his arms._

Tony, floating above, loved his mother in this moment. He had, of course, seen her standing up to Howard before and it never ceased to amaze him.

_‘He is my child?’_

_‘Yes, Howard,’ Maria said reaching out to fix the blankets. ‘Anthony is your baby boy and you will protect him and you will love him as much as you love yourself.’_

_‘Yes, Maria.’ Howard passed the bundle back as baby Anthony began to fuss._

Tony turned his face away from the scene overcome with emotion. He turned back when he felt the light change colour.

_A five year old Tony stood at his father’s knee listening to him talk to Jarvis about a meeting he had to get to the next day. When Howard finished his instruction, Jarvis smiled down at Tony and gave him a small wink before leaving to do as ordered._

_‘Do you have to go, Daddy?’ Tony placed his small hand on his father’s knee. ‘You’re gonna miss my birfday.’_

_‘Speak properly, Tony.’ Howard shoved Tony’s hand off his knee and gathered together the papers he’d need._

_‘Bir-th-day.’ Tony sounded out the word and then looked towards his father for praise._

_Howard’s face briefly softened with a smile. Tony was sure he’d imagined it when a moment later the stern expression had settled on his father’s face again._

_‘I’ll back a week after your birthday. I’m sure you and your mother can manage.’_

_‘But I want you there, Daddy. Please?’_

_‘Stop it, Tony. Where’s your mother?’ Howard opened up the door of his office. ‘Maria! Come and take your son!’_

_Tony dropped to the floor and watched his father continue preparing everything for his meeting. Maria then came into the room and took in the scene._

_‘Howard, what are you doing?’ Maria picked up her son and cuddled him close to her chest._

_‘Packing my stuff up. Meeting tomorrow. Take him somewhere else.’ Howard waved a hand at them and Maria walked out and lay down on her bed with her baby boy._

_‘Mamma?’ Tony pressed his little hand against his mother’s soft cheek and inhaled her sweet perfume._

_‘_ Bellissimo bambino _. My clever boy,’ Maria pressed a kiss to Tony’s forehead. ‘It’s all right.’_

_‘Daddy won’t be here for my birf - bir-th-day.’ Tony quickly fixed his mistake. Maria skated her fingers over Tony’s sides and he dissolved into childish giggles._

_‘But I will be here,’ Maria said when Tony had caught his breath. ‘And so will Jarvis and your friends.’_

_‘But, Mamma, I want Daddy here too.’_

_Maria sat up and ran a finger from Tony’s hairline down to his chin. ‘I know,_ bellissimo bambino _, and I’m sorry. But we will still have fun,_ lo prometto _.’_

_There was a knock on the door and Jarvis came in. ‘There you are, Master Tony. I have been trying to find you.’_

_‘Sorry, Jarvis.’ Tony sat up and smiled at the old man._

_It was only now that he was floating up above it all, that Tony could see Maria mouthing a thank you to their faithful butler._

_‘I have located your teddy bear.’ Jarvis pulled the brown bear out from behind his back and presented it to a happy Tony._

The scene before Tony rippled and changed. Another scene that Tony recognised instantly materialised before him.

_A drunken Howard loomed over a nine year old Tony who was standing in front of his mother lying on the floor, bleeding from her nose._

_‘Move, boy.’_

_‘No! I won’t let you hurt her again.’ Tony shouted his voice petering off towards the end._

_‘Tony, don’t. Go and find Jarvis.’ Maria begged from the floor._

_‘No, mamma. I won’t let him.’ Tony repeated. He clenched his little fists at his side, determined not to falter._

_Howard stared down at him, swaying on his feet. Tony, despite his fear, stood his ground._

_‘Get out of my way, boy.’_

_‘I can’t.’ Tony whimpered. Howard latched onto that sign of weakness and smirked._

_‘You wanna protect your mother, huh?’ Howard scoffed. ‘The whore can protect herself.’_

_Howard pulled his hand back and brought it down across Tony’s cheek._

_The older, wiser Tony flinched as he watched from this new point of view._

_‘Tony!’ Maria grabbed her baby and pulled her in close and then yelled for Jarvis. The old man raced in after a few moments and took in the scene before him. ‘Look after Tony.’_

_Maria passed Tony off to the old man and Jarvis carried him out. Instead of his view shifting to Jarvis looking after his younger self, his view stayed on his parents. Maria picked herself up and punched Howard, knocking his drunken ass to the floor. Maria, his mamma, stood over him her fists still clenched, blood drying against her skin._

_‘Don’t you ever touch my son again, you_ fottuto pezzo di merda _. Do you understand me?’ Maria, her Italian accent slipping through, pressed the heel of her shoe into Howard’s crotch._

_‘How do I know he’s even mine, whore?’_

_‘I have never cheated on you, Howard. Though God knows why I married you.’_

_Maria dug her heel in until Howard groaned in pain and sweetly smiled down at him before leaving to clean herself up and going to care for Tony._

As the scene disappeared, Tony floated motionless as the memory plagued him. A small current brushed his cheek, snapping him out of it. He spun wildly, desperate for an escape. He sank in despair as the light drew him in again.

_A now fifteen, and drunk as hell, Tony was sobbing as he waited for the AI to fully upload to the newly built and yet to be named Dummy._

_Tony had lost his mother, Jarvis and Howard four weeks ago and the funerals had been two days ago. He'd gone to his parent's funeral even though he'd wanted to go to Jarvis's which had, purposely, been held at the same time by Obadiah._

_‘‘s not fair. Why’d J have to go? Or mamma?’ Tony muttered into the bottle._

Program upload: 87%

_Tony took a swig from the whiskey bottle and looked over his new robot. The sleek machine glistened in the halogen lights, its arm poised and ready for movement. Tony took another swig from the bottle and checked the progress of the upload._

Program upload: 98%

_And promptly took another swig. ‘Fucking hell, Stark, get your shit together, you dummy.’ Tony clenched his fist and slammed it on the table. ‘What the fuck is your problem?’ Tony dug the heel of his palm into his eyes to stop the tears._

_Something metallic nudged Tony's arm, dragging his attention away from the bottle to look at his new AI infused robot. The bot seemed to cock its camera at him and Tony laughed through his sobs._

_‘Hey, there, buddy,’ Tony ran a hand over the arm of the robot. ‘I created you and I’m gonna look after you, okay? You don’t have to worry about anything. Now, what am I gonna call you, huh?’_

_The robot whirred at him and Tony managed a watery smile. ‘You’re a smart little thing, huh?’_

_Tony began running through some names but the bot shot down every one of them by rolling away a few inches and then back again to nudge his arm._

_‘Alright, alright, name later. I dunno if you’re gonna like bein’ my bot. I’m not a great right now. Drinkin’ too much and not sleepin’ enough. Kind of a dummy, huh. Whoa, what?’_

_The bot had suddenly whirred at him happily and nudged at his arm insistently. ‘What? Dummy?’ The bot nudged at him again. ‘Dummy? What, that’s your name?’ The bot whirred again and so Dummy was born._

Tony laughed at the memory as the scene shifted again, first to his time in the cave and then to the forming of the Avengers.

From there it went to scenes that he didn’t recognise.

_Tony stood at the head of a long table, wearing black and silver armour, addressing a group of people he didn't recognise. ‘I realise that this all sounds nuts but it’ll work.’_

_‘This plan of yours will kill the Avengers?’ A woman with caramel coloured skin in a tight black leather cat suit spoke up._

_‘You’re forgetting that I was an Avenger. I know their weaknesses and this plan will end them.’_

_Evil-Tony began to lay out his admittedly good plan for his posse. He never got to finish thanks to the Avengers invading their base via the newly destroyed ceiling._

_The fight lasted for several minutes when Steve threw Evil-Tony through a wall and followed after him. Evil-Tony was lying on the floor blood spilling from his mouth._

_‘Iron Man, also known as Tony Stark,’ Steve spat the name out like a curse. ‘You are under arrest for terrorism, mass murder, genocide, torture, kidnapping, and cyber terrorism.’_

_‘No offence, Cap, but I don’t think so.’ Evil-Tony spluttered._

_‘Why not?’ Steve asked as he reached down and grasped evil-Tony’s wrist with the intention of pulling him up._

_‘Cause I’m bleedin’ out, Steve.’ Tony coughed up some more blood and Steve crouched down._

_‘Tony? Can you hear me?’ Steve ripped off one his gloves and checked evil-Tony’s pulse. ‘What happened to you, Tony? Why did you do this, hmm? What went so wrong that this is what you turned too?’_

_‘Nothin’ you coulda done ‘bout it, Stevie. Kinda inevitable. ’m sorry, though. For hurtin’ you. And for, for what happened to Bruce and Clint. That wasn’t meant to happen.’_

_‘Well, it did and they died. You killed your friends, Tony, people who cared about you.’_

_‘Not everyone. Pepper, Rhodey and Happy are alive.’_

_‘No, Tony, Pepper and Rhodey died in your last attack. And Happy the one before.’_

_‘Oh, well, then, time to go.’ Evil-Tony didn't sound like he regretted it at all._

_Steve watched in silence as evil-Tony died. And when he was gone, Steve clambered back through the trashed wall and faced the Avengers._

_‘Iron Man is dead. We don’t need to worry about him anymore.’_

_Natasha stalked past Steve to check for herself and Thor laid a hand on Steve’s shoulder._

_‘Our friend left us long ago. This shell serves nothing more than as a reminder of past that is forever tainted. It is better that he is gone, good Captain. I do not believe there was anything we could have done to save him. My only wish is that we had been able to stop before we lost our friends.’_

Tony disturbed the water, thankfully, shattering the image into a million pieces. The relief was short lived as another scene appeared before him.

_Tony was sitting on a stool in his workshop, schematics for some device spread out in front of him._

_‘No, Dummy, not useful. Not useful at all.’_

_Dummy beeped and whirred at him plunking down the smoothie right on top of some schematics._

_‘Oh, for fuck’s sake, I’m gonna send you to the pound. Forget community college, you can be a chew toy for some dogs, you useless thing.’_

_‘Be nice, Tony.’ Steve said as he came into the workshop with two sandwiches._

_‘No, he’s a useless robot. For me? Aw, baby, you’re so good to me.’ Tony pulled Steve into a deep kiss, surprising the Tony watching the scene from above._

_‘You’re welcome, Tony. How’re the designs coming?’_

_‘Not bad. I think Pete’ll like ‘em.’ Tony held up a wrist device to show Steve._

_‘Looks good. You’re still gonna keep it for his birthday?’_

_‘Yeah, the one’s he’s got now work fine.’_

_They discussed the project Tony’d been working on: a “web shooter”. Detailing the exact measurements for weight distribution and how to modify the composition to hide it._

_Tony eventually looked up to Steve smiling at him._

_‘What’re you looking at, Rogers?’_

_‘You. You’re very passionate about this.’_

_Tony was clearly trying to fight down a blush. ‘It’s for Peter.’_

_Steve smiled and reached out to cup Tony’s jaw with both hands, and pressed their lips together._

Tony started when he saw the light reflecting off the silver and gold bands on their ring fingers. But the scene shifted before he could process.

_This time it was Pepper who brought lunch down and kissed Tony. ‘You ever gonna come up?’_

_‘Not yet. I need to get this finished for Natasha. Promised I’d have it done by the weekend.’_

_‘Okay, well, don’t forget that we have a date tonight.’_

_‘Right, sure thing. JARVIS, remind me.’_

_‘Of course, sir.’_

_Pepper sighed and kissed Tony’s temple. ‘I’ll see you for dinner then.’_

The scene shifted again.

_Tony standing tall above the rest of the Avengers as leader and financer while they killed any who opposed them and their rule._

_Tony curled around some black haired woman, the both of them wearing wedding rings, in a non-expensive house._

_Tony lying dead in a ditch, track marks scaring the inside of his elbows._

_Tony dying in a car accident while drunk._

_Tony working on designs with Bruce, Reed, McCoy, and some lanky teenager._

_Tony curled up with Pepper. With Steve. With Bruce. With Natasha._

_Watching Natasha and Bruce’s wedding._

_Watching Clint jump off a building and slam into the ground with a_ splat _of finality._

_Tony standing over Steve’s lifeless body laid out on a slab._

_Steve standing over Tony’s lifeless body lain out on a slab._

_Bruce Hulking out and killing them all._

_Tony and Rhodey laughing as Dummy rolled around Butterfingers and You showing off his new wheels._

_Tony building and inventing and destroying._

_Bruce shot in the back by General Ross on the Helicarrier, the Avengers helpless, and then blasting Ross and watching him die._

_Tony dying in a hospital bed of alcohol poisoning._

Scene after scene of what Tony’s life could be like.

Images of different lives, the good, the bad, the downright terrifying, flashed before Tony’s eyes too fast for him to see. Tony’s lungs had begun to burn from lack of oxygen and his vision, thankfully, started to blur. Tony’s lungs had begun to burn from lack of oxygen and his vision, thankfully, started to blur.

Just as Tony knew he was going to drown, he felt a hand grab the back of his shirt and haul him out into the sunlight.


	8. Chapter Eight

Steve was only half listening to Thor tell them about his last adventure in Jotunheim as they trudged across the icy plains. They had been walking for what felt like hours and Steve still kept glancing back over his shoulder to where they had arrived. He wasn't able to get Tony out of his mind since they had left him by Mimir’s well when they had scaled the tree and dropped through the portal.

He’d not felt at all comfortable in leaving Tony behind with a decapitated talking head who had taken Odin’s eye. In Steve’s books, that wasn't a person you should leave a friend alone with.

Thoughts of Tony plagued his mind, wondering if his friend was safe, if he should have volunteered. Then again, there was the question of why Tony had offered to stay with Mimir in the first place. Steve figured he had his reasons and so pressed down on the feelings of worry and carried on.

The visions Steve had seen due to Hel had been horrifying to say the least. He’d seen Howard, Peggy, and, worst of all, Bucky.

Bucky had appeared like a dream through the thick fog surrounding them. He’d looked young and whole and alive. Bucky had stared at him and then spoke.

_‘I never should have followed you. You were just a skinny kid from Brooklyn and you got me killed’_.

The sound of breaking ice brought Steve out of his reverie and he automatically hefted up his shield.

‘Run!’ Thor yelled and took off.

As they raced away from danger, Steve realised it wasn’t the breaking ice making the sound. It was Frost Giants coming after them. They managed to keep ahead for a while before they were surrounded.

‘You should not have come here, Odinsson.’ One of the giants drawled.

‘We gonna hafta to fight our way through, huh?’ Hawkeye asked Thor as he pulled an arrow from his quiver.

‘I’m afraid so.’ Thor altered his grip on his hammer easily shifting into a battle stance.

‘I knew I should’ve stayed with Tony.’ Bruce lamented before forcing his change into the Hulk.

The Frost Giants seemed to take this as a challenge and attacked. Steve didn’t bother issuing commands and simply trusted his team to do what they needed to. He’d never fought giants before but they seemed to have the same weaknesses as any human and so Steve fought giants. Blue, ice giants.

Between the strength of himself, Thor, and Hulk as well as the long distance efforts of Hawkeye and Widow, the Frost Giants fell. They were able to give themselves enough of a break to sprint free of the attack. Hawkeye had to attempt to physically drag Hulk away, mostly just to get his attention. When they finally slowed down, Steve found himself looking up at a massive throne of ice.

‘‘tis the throne room,’ Thor stepped closer to the throne and began inspecting it. ‘If the Frost Giants did take Odin’s eye they would have hidden it here.’

‘Hulk, Hawkeye, keep a look out. Widow, help Thor.’

‘You got it, Cap.’ Hawkeye kept Hulk by the entranceway, murmuring to him to keep him calm and distracted.

As they began searching for the eye, Steve found his mind wandering to what he’d seen in Niflheim. But, they sound of Frost Giants coming for them put a stop to that. Hawkeye came to help them search, leaving Hulk in charge.

Steve finally checked in a crevice behind the throne and saw what was unmistakably an eye. Optic nerve attached and all.

‘Got it!’ Steve announced. ‘Widow, look after this,’ Natasha gave Steve a dirty look before slipping the eye into one of her holsters. ‘Thor, you lead the way. Hawkeye, I want you protecting Widow. Hulk, you go last.’ Commands issued, Steve motioned for Thor to lead on and they crept back to where they’d first come into this world of ice. As they ran, Thor called for Heimdall to get them back and yet they barely managed to escape in time.

Steve didn't relax until they were standing on the branches of the world tree looking down into the portal. Through the portal he could see the Frost Giants standing around, screaming for their blood. When they reached Mimir’s well again, Steve was initially confused. He couldn’t see Tony anywhere, just the head of Mimir.

‘Where’s Tony?’

‘Where’s the eye?’ Mimir asked. Widow pulled the eye from her holster and dangled it before the head. ‘He’s in the well.’

Steve raced over and looked down into the well. Floating about a foot below the surface was Tony’s unmoving body. Steve immediately reached into the water, grasped the back of Tony’s shirt, and started trying to haul him out. But between the briefcase and wet clothes, Steve couldn’t get a good enough grip and called for the Hulk to help him out. Hulk reached into the water, wrapped a hand around Tony’s waist and pulled him out.

Tony came out immobile and pale. Hulk dumped him flat on the floor and Steve checked him over. Tony was, thankfully, breathing though it was shallow and his pulse was going a little too fast for Steve’s liking. Out the corner of his eye, Steve could see Natasha holding the head by its ear while Clint held an arrow to its eye and Thor questioned it.

‘Tony? Tony, can you hear me?’ Steve implored Tony, a hand pressed over the light of the arc reactor. ‘Hulk,’ Steve looked up at the green beast and laid a gentle hand on his bulging forearm. ‘Hulk, we need Bruce. Please, let him back.’

The Hulk grunted as he began shifting back to Bruce who took a moment to gather himself before scrambling forward to check Tony.

‘He’s in shock,’ Bruce declared. ‘We should move him away from the well before he properly comes too.’

Steve nodded and carefully gathered Tony into his arms and took him back to where the Warriors and Sif were. He then lay Tony down in the grass and moved back to allow Bruce to care for him.

‘Mimir says that he saw Amora the Enchantress speaking with the Norns the night before they disappeared.’

‘And where’s Mimir now?’ Steve asked, tearing his attention away from the frozen Tony and the attentive Bruce.

‘Nat dumped him into the well with the eye,’ Clint said stripping off his weapons and sitting down. ‘How’s Tony?’

‘Bruce says he’s in shock but he should be fine.’ Steve answered sitting down himself.

‘Wonderful. Now, Thor, who’s Amora?’ Clint asked as Natasha dropped to the grass beside him.

‘Amora is crazy,’ Fandral declared. ‘She learnt her magiks at a young age and has pursued Thor for many years.’

‘A crazy ex, huh, Thor?’

‘Amora and I have never had relations,’ Thor told Clint who grinned lewdly at him. ‘Though I don't know why she would abduct the Norns. Unless she wishes for the world tree to rot.’

‘Well, it doesn't matter,’ Steve decided. ‘We’re all exhausted and Tony can’t go anywhere. We’ll sleep here tonight and find the Enchantress tomorrow.’


	9. Chapter Nine

The bright moon shone down on Yggdrasil, making the tree seem even more ethereal, as they cooked a dinner on an open fire. Bruce, just getting over the transformation, had changed and was sitting between Natasha and Clint for warmth. Tony was sitting away from them all between two smaller trees cradling his briefcase to his chest like it was a lifeline. Steve dug one of Bruce’s fleece jackets from his bag and two dinners and carefully made his way over to the man. Bruce had told them to allow Tony some time to recover by himself but that didn't mean he need to be alone so Steve figured it was okay to join him.

Steve crouched before Tony and was a little dismayed when the man didn't look up. He placed the plates out of the way and forcefully wrapped the jacket around Tony’s shoulders and rubbed at his upper arms to get him warm. Tony grunted at the sudden jostling but made no move to push Steve away.

‘Hey, I thought you might be cold so I brought you a jacket,’ Steve tried for a small smile even though Tony wasn't looking at him. ‘It’s one of Bruce’s spares so you know it’ll be warm. I brought dinner too if you’re hungry,’ Steve tried to pry the briefcase away from him but Tony clutched it tighter. ‘Okay, okay, you can keep the case but you need to eat, Tony. Please?’

Tony looked up at Steve from beneath his eyelashes and then at the plate Steve was holding out to him. Steve tried for another warm smiled but Tony just looked blankly at him.

‘Tony, I need you to eat, please?’

Tony eventually stretched his legs out and used the briefcase as a make shift table to slowly eat his meal. Steve managed to squeeze himself into the space left between Tony and the roots and together they ate in silence.

Tony took far longer to eat than Steve because he was eating only one piece of food at a time. Steve sat by him patiently and when Tony finished Steve took the plate and put it to one side and tried not to feel like a failure when Tony pulled the case back into his arms and his legs up.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so quiet before, y’know. It’s a little weird.’ Steve lightly poked Tony’s leg and Tony managed a scowl. ‘Okay, okay,’ Steve laughed. ‘Tony, what happened in that well?’

Steve wasn’t sure if Tony would answer him and when several silent minutes had passed, Steve had given up on getting an answer. But then --

‘I saw visions, I guess. A couple that were actually memories or kinda important but then. Well, then I saw different versions of the future. Different ways my life could go.’

‘Oh, wow. That’s, um, are you okay?’

‘Not really,’ Tony laughed humourlessly. ‘I saw the day I was born, though not the actual event, thank fuck, ‘cos that would’ve been really disturbing. And then I saw the moment I realised that Howard didn't care, the first time he. The first time he hit me, when I created Dummy, when I was in that cave, the battle. All these memories.’

‘Tony, I - ’

‘Please don’t, Steve. I know you’ve got your view of Howard and I’ve got mine and I’d rather not debate it with you.’

‘I was going to say I’m sorry you had to relive all that.’

‘Oh, um, thanks, I guess.’

‘What about the future?’ Steve poked at Tony’s thigh again and this time Tony managed a sad, half smile.

‘Some good, some bad. One where I was super evil with my own posse and Bruce, Clint, Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy were all dead ‘cause of me. And you and the rest of the Avengers attacked a meeting where I was detailing a really good plan to kill you all and I died. And one where Bruce was shot by Ross and I killed him. Actually I died a lot in the visions.

‘You were dead in a couple, the others too. In some it was just me in the lab workin’ on stuff, or I gave up Iron Man, or Hulk killed us all. Clint killing himself ‘cause he couldn’t go on without Phil, the Avengers as tyrants. Me in relationships with different people. All kinds of messed up stuff. And all of it was so real, I can’t, it doesn’t make sense. I don't - ’

‘Tony, hey, calm down, you're okay.’ Steve wrapped an arm around Tony’s shoulders and rubbed small circles against his arm. ‘You’re an Avenger, Tony, a good guy. You’re with Pepper, and no one’s dead. Everything’s okay, I promise. You’re okay, I’m here and I’ve got you.’

Tony nodded and dropped his head against Steve’s shoulder. Steve held Tony tighter and allowed him to fall asleep.

Lying there holding onto Tony, Steve looked up through the canopy of Yggdrasil and wondered what he’d see if he were to fall into well. It was almost worth it knowing that he might get to see his mother again, or Bucky, or anyone he’d known during the war. As Steve thought about this he realised that maybe this was the point of Mimir’s well. He thought of what might’ve happened to Tony if he’d been left in the well any longer before deciding he was better off not knowing.

He thought back to what Hel had said. “ _How is your guilt over your love’s death?”_. Steve had no doubt that his friends thought Hel had been speaking about Peggy. But Steve still wasn't comfortable talking about the truth, despite how attitudes had changed. Not yet, anyway. Maybe soon he’d find the strength, the courage, to come out to his friends. To maybe even tell them just how much he had loved Bucky, as well as Peggy.

But he was nowhere near ready to have that conversation with anyone. He’d barely been able to research how things had changed because he was scared of what he might find. Yet the research had helped him to understand himself a little better.

Back in the 40s, homosexuality had not only been illegal but was also considered a mental illness. He could remember the rumours about men in his neighbourhood who people had suspected of being queer. He could remember the raids police would conduct on gay bars and the names and photographs of gay men published in the papers. Steve could remember when he had first realised that his feelings for Bucky weren’t platonic and drowning in the overwhelming shame and fear of discovery. And yet, he’d still told Bucky.

_‘Bucky?’ Steve was sitting cross legged on his bed watching Bucky flicking through a magazine he’d found somewhere._

_‘What’s up, Steve?’_

_‘If I tell you somethin’ you promise you won’t tell on me?’_

_Bucky looked up at him laughing but stopped when he saw the serious look on Steve’s face. He pushed the magazine to the side and shifted to face him properly._

_‘Promise, Steve. What d’you wanna tell me?’_

_‘I think that I, that I might be, y’know.’_

_‘No, Steve, I don’t know,’ Bucky laughed at him again and Steve felt his stomach drop. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. ‘You might be what, Steve?’_

_‘Queer.’ Steve blurted out completely lost as to why he’d thought this was a good idea. Especially with the way Bucky is frowning at him. And then he started laughing again._

_‘Queer? Oh, Steve, you’re so -- Wait, are you serious?’_

_‘Yeah. I mean, I, I think so.’_

_‘Holy shit, Steve,’ Bucky jumped to his feet and for a second Steve knew that Bucky, his best and only friend, was gonna deck him. ‘You have to be careful who you tell, Stevie. You tell the wrong person and who knows what could happen!’_

_‘But you won’t tell, will you?’ Steve asked nervously. Bucky watched him for a second and then came over and sat down beside him._

_‘I won’t say anything, Steve, I promise. But you have to be careful, okay? I won’t always be around to look after you, little man. Promise me you’ll be careful?’_

_‘I promise, Bucky.’ Steve didn’t bother trying to hold back his tears as he sunk against his friend when Bucky held out an arm._

Steve jerked back to the present when Tony shifted against him. Steve sighed and settled back against the tree.Bucky and his own mother had been understanding even when Steve had told them that he was actually interested in men and women. And now, through research, Steve knew that he was bisexual and that it wasn't a mental illness or illegal or looked down upon by most.

Regardless of those who believed it was a sin and places where it was illegal, Steve was more comfortable with his sexuality. Though still not ready to tell his new friends. Even if he could see how happy Clint and Phil were and how comfortable they were in themselves and their relationship. Actually, seeing them together, seeing them able to show their love, helped a helluva lot.

Steve glanced over at said friends and was glad to see them sleeping. He let his head fall back against the tree and closed his own eyes to sleep even though he'd lost feeling in his right arm from Tony. Steve could honestly say that he didn't mind.


	10. Chapter Ten

Tony was jerked awake by the crowing of a rooster somewhere above him, turning over blearily, he found Steve smiling sleepily at him and he automatically responded in kind. They manoeuvred themselves from the tree roots and stretched before joining the others to find Barton swearing at the rooster.

Tony took up a position beside Bruce and somehow pulled the fleece jacket on over the briefcase and burrowed down into the warmth. Bruce gave a half smile and Tony pressed against his arm a little more.

‘Morning, Tony. How are you feeling?’

‘Not great. Why are you shivering?’

‘I Hulked out in Jotunheim and then ended up as me without any warmth. Slight hypothermia but nothing severe.’

Tony’s brow furrowed as he reached out and took Bruce’s pulse, letting go when he found it to be steady. Bruce returned the gesture, much to his dismay but, satisfied with whatever result he’d received, let go as well.

Tony turned his attention to watching Thor and the Warriors make porridge for breakfast. Sif, meanwhile, used a jug to collect water from the well and pour it over the rotting tree. Tony watched as the black tendrils of rot visibly receded slightly. But nowhere near enough for them to relax.

Tony tuned out of the conversation when Volstagg passed around hot bowls of porridge and the others began to plan their next move; he was still wrapped up in trying to process what he’d seen in the well. So far, the visions lacking people were proving a little easier to bear but he’d been taunting himself with the visions that ended with him hurting and endangering those he loved. The only visions he’d been able to come to terms with were those that had him ending up happy with Pepper, but those had been few and far between.

To top it all off, despite his deep trust in Steve, there was still a niggling doubt in the back of his mind that mocked him with the idea that maybe he was still in the well, after all, he was currently sitting in front of the tree that had featured in one of the visions.

It wasn't easy separating the visions from reality. Everything seemed to blur together and his still foggy mind wasn’t making things any easier for him.

‘Tony, are you listening?’ Bruce nudged him lightly and Tony waved him off nodding.

‘The elves may not tell us, even if they know.’ Thor was saying.

‘Elves?’ Tony whispered to Bruce.

‘A realm called Alfheim. Apparently they’re good, incredibly beautiful, elves.’ Bruce explained watching the conversation before them.

‘It’s worth a shot, though, right?’ Clint asked.

‘I do not have a better idea.’ Thor admitted.

'Then let’s go visit some elves.’ Natasha’s light tone was countered by the fact that she was sharpening one of her knives.

‘Legolas should be right at home.’ Tony stood, brushing the grass and crap off the seat of his pants and held a hand out for Bruce to help him up.

‘Fuck you, Stark,’ Clint responded though he was smiling. ‘Let’s get going then. Mighty Thor, lead the way.’ Clint motioned up at the branches of the tree. Thor seemed to harden himself for what was ahead and began scaling the tree.

When they finally arrived at the portal, Tony baulked. Although there was no fog or mist pouring from the portal and he could see that this world wasn't made of ice, Tony could still feel the cold of Niflheim and the well flowing into him. Just as the panic was setting in, Steve pressed against Tony’s side and held his wrist.

‘Ready?’

‘Not really. I think I might just hang with the warriors.’

‘Tony,’ Steve rubbed his thumb across the sensitive skin of Tony’s wrist and smiled at him. ‘We’ll walk through together, okay? I’ll help keep the cold at bay.’

Still unsure, Tony focused back on the portal and tried to take half a step back. Steve waved the others on ahead and, once they’d gone, Steve wrapped his arms around Tony and pulled him into a tight hug. Tony didn't react but, once the warmth of Steve’s body began to chase away the chill, Tony brought his own arms up to grip Steve’s shirt.

‘You will be fine, Tony. I promise. I’m not gonna let anything happen to you. You have my word.’

‘Whatever you say, Cap.’ Tony had aimed for a light tone but missed the mark, sounding desperate instead.

‘Tony,’ Steve titled Tony’s chin up so they were looking eye-to-eye. ‘I promise that you will be okay. We are going to walk through portal, and we are going to see what these elves know. Then we’ll come back here and keep going until we have found the Norns and brought them back. Do you believe me?’

‘Almost.’ Tony muttered.

‘Close enough,’ Steve chuckled and once again took Tony’s wrist and gently led him over to the portal. ‘See, that, Tony? No ice, no snow, no cold. It looks kinda pretty and I think I can see a forest. So, what d’you think? Will you come with me?’

‘I - yes, yes, okay.’ Tony briefly considered shifting his hand so that he and Steve would be holding hands but decided against it.

And so, together, Tony and Steve stepped into the portal and the sudden wintery light. There was no cold, no darkness, and Tony felt at ease.

When they stepped through, Tony was strongly reminded of the forest in the first Lord of the Rings movie. There were large oak trees, spiralling staircases of white wood, intricate buildings and elves. Tall, lean and beyond beautiful. Tony couldn't think of a word to adequately describe these beings. They were stunning.

‘Bruce, forest in Lord of the Rings?’

‘Lórien.’ Bruce breathed out.

‘Lórien. Definitely Lórien.’ Barton agreed.

‘Feeling at home?’ Tony asked half-heartedly.

‘Not by a long shot.’ Barton answered him.

‘Greetings, Thor Odinsson.’ They'd been approached by one of the elves, maybe a leader going by what he was wearing. The tall elf was clad in flowing robes of light silver and blue, his long black hair held back with silver circlet studded with rubies.

‘Greetings, Galdor Telrúnyou, lord of Alfheim.’ Thor gave the lord a bow and indicated that the rest of them should do the same. Once they had each bowed or curtsied and stood upright again, Galdor tipped his head to them. If this guy was human, Tony would’ve called him out on his pretentious behaviour but he wasn't and so Tony kept quiet.

‘And what can we elves do for you, prince of Asgard?’

‘We wish for your help, great lord. The Norns of the Yggdrasil have gone missing and we must find them. We have spoken with Hel of Niflheim and have dealt with Mimir by his well as well as the animals living amongst the world tree. The gentle deer of the world tree saw Amora the Enchantress speaking to the Norns the evening before they went missing. But we cannot think of where she may be hiding. We wanted to know if you or any of your kind may know something that could assist us.’

‘Hmm, this is indeed terrible news, though I must ask why you have brought Midgardians with you.’

‘These Midgardians are my friends and teammates.’ Thor sounded as though he was on the offensive and Tony stood taller and squared his shoulders. ‘I trust these people with my life and I will not hear them slandered.’

Thor, their booming, overly friendly teammate was not standing with them anymore. Instead, Tony was seeing Thor, God of Thunder, Prince of Asgard. He seemed taller, broader, and above them storm clouds had begun to roll in and thunder rumbled in the distance.

‘My apologies, Thor. I meant no disrespect to you or to your new family. I was merely surprised to see that you were accompanied by Midgardians and not by the Warriors Three or the Lady Sif.’

‘They are busy caring for the world tree in the absence of the Norns.’

The elf nodded to them and indicated that they should follow. Thor scowled at the elf but walked behind him all the same. Tony decided that the elves were beautiful but they were kinda dicks. And, besides if Thor didn't like them, then neither did Tony.

They reached a fire pit where a bunch of other elves were sitting. While Galdor and Thor took the most important seats, they were sat near the back, behind kids, the disabled and the elderly.

‘They don’t value all the members of their society.’ Bruce whispered to them.

‘No, they don't.’ Natasha stood to help an injured woman into a seat but the woman pushed Tasha away and sat down by herself, hissing in pain.

‘No wonder Thor didn't wanna come here.’ Clint said watching as an old man had to give up his seat for a younger woman.

Steve shushed them as Galdor started addressing the elves.

‘My friends. The mighty thunder god, Thor Odinsson, prince of Asgard, has come here today, with his Midgardian … friends to ask for our help. The Norns who care for the Urdarbrunnr beneath the almighty Yggdrasil have gone missing. Prince Thor believes that Amora the Enchantress is responsible though he does not know where she is residing. He wishes to know if we can be of any help.’

Galdor had spread his arms wide as he spoke to create the image that he was speaking to them all but Tony was a pro at public speaking. He recognised when a person was only addressing a certain group of people and he hated it. It was rude and he was pretty sure that they’d just been insulted again.

The crowd had begun murmuring at the mention of Midgardians and had gotten louder when Galdor had told them they were there for help.

‘I believe that we should assist them in this quest. If only because if they do no locate the great Norns than Yggdrasil will die and we and the nine realms will die with her. Yet, the knowledge that the mighty Thor and his Midgardian companions desire was not easy for us to discover. The price for our help must be steep and personal. In return for our help we desire something from you, Thunder God or one of your Midgardians. Perhaps something that reflects who the elves of Alfheim are. We will give you thirty minutes to discuss this with your Midgardians.’

With the end of Galdor’s speech, Thor carefully made his way over to them and led them some distance away from the elves.

‘That guy’s a dick.’ Tony informed Thor who looked as though Galdor had wounded him.

‘Yes, he is,’ Thor agreed glancing at the elves. ‘He is not the true leader of the elves of Alfheim but there is nothing that I or any Asgardian can do about it.’

‘Okay, well, I think we can all agree that Galdor is a dick, but we need to focus. Thor, what’s he mean about something that reflects their nature?’

‘They are gods of nature and fertility. They give inspiration to musicians and artists.’

‘So, orgy, then?’ Barton joked.

‘Clint, shut up,’ Steve ordered and ignored the grin Barton gave him. ‘You said artists? What if I drew something for them?’

‘They will want something personal, Steve. You would need to draw something that opens your heart to them.’

‘That’s fine. I’ve already got an idea.’ Steve nodded and so they walked back. Tony, Bruce, Natasha and Barton retook their seats, but Thor and Steve walked up to the self-proclaimed lord of elves.

‘Lord Galdor? This is Captain Steven Rogers, also known as Captain America. Captain Rogers is an artist. He has offered to draw something for you as payment for any information you may have about the current location of Amora the Enchantress.’

‘This is good payment,’ Galdor stood then and inspected Steve. ‘You will need to draw something that matters to your heart. Do you understand, Captain Rogers?’

‘I understand, Lord Galdor. I am willing to do this.’

‘Very well.’ Galdor produced some parchment and something to draw with and directed Steve to a spot where he could draw in peace. ‘You may create your drawing here, Captain, and you may use all the time you need. We shall leave you in peace. Mighty Thor, perhaps you and I could share a meal?’

‘Of course, Lord of Elves, thank you.’

Thor glanced back at them before following Galdor into one of the buildings. The elves around them dispersed some distance away, leaving the Avengers alone.

‘You think we should join Steve?’ Barton asked.

‘Somehow, Clint, I doubt that's a good idea,’ Natasha remained in her seat watching the elves around them. ‘I don’t like this.’

‘There’s nothing we can do,’ Bruce told them quietly. ‘The other guy doesn’t like it here.’

Tony laid a hand on Bruce’s arm. ‘Don’t you dare, Brucie. We’ve lost Steve and Thor so you gotta stay with us.’

‘I’m going to, Tony. Just thought I’d warn you all.’ Bruce rubbed at his eyes still tired from having to turn into the Hulk yesterday. Tony rubbed at Bruce’s arm to reassure him.

‘How are you feeling, Tony?’ Natasha asked. ‘You were suffering severe shock just a few hours ago.’

‘Nah, I’m good.’ Although Tony had meant for it to come out as reassuring and maybe a little cocky, it instead came out strained.

‘Well, s’long as you’re sure.’ Barton said watching him closely.

‘Sure as pie, Barton baby.’

‘That’s not a thing.’ Bruce informed him.

‘Course it's a thing,’ Tony said flapping a hand at him. ‘Sure as pie is absolutely a thing that people say. Don't be so stupid, Brucie, honestly, what’s wrong with you. Course it's a thing - ’

‘You might want to try breathing, Tony.’ Natasha’s voice broke through Tony’s rambling. He looked up to find that she was standing in front of him, her hands heavy on his shoulders. ‘I’m totally breathing.’

‘You spoke for ten minutes without breaking a sweat.’

‘Ten minutes, I, I wasn’t speaking for ten minutes. It was totally only a couple seconds.’

‘No, Tony,’ Bruce’s fingers pressed against the inside of Tony’s wrist. ‘You spoke for ten minutes about how “sure as pie” is a thing. You then went off on a tangent about how we’re idiots for not knowing and how we should take lessons from you in everything from pop culture to astrophysics.’

‘I did? Oh, well, I was totally right.’ Tony gently pushed Natasha’s hands off his shoulders and stood up to stretch out.

‘I’m finished!’ Steve cried out. ‘Uh, Gal - Lord Galdor? Thor? I finished my drawing.’

Galdor, Thor, and the other elves heard Steve and came back over. Steve was obviously proud of his drawing as he handed it over to Galdor. Galdor inspected the image for several minutes before passing it off to a minion and turning to the crowd.

‘Captain Steven Rogers has drawn something beautiful and from the heart. Amora the Enchantress is using a place in Svartalfheim, the home of our opposites, the dark elves. You, mighty Thor, and your Midgardians have received the information that you came from and so you may leave.’

With his knowledge imparted upon the lowly mortals they were, Galdor and the elves left. Steve and Thor re-joined them and Thor all but ran them back towards where they came through calling for Heimdall.

When they reached the tree, Thor exhaled and dropped heavily to the floor.

‘Svartalfheim. This will not be pleasant or easy.’

‘We’ll manage, Thor,’ Steve reassured him. ‘We’ll have lunch with the Warriors and Sif, get ourselves together and then we’ll go rescue the Norns. And then we can go home and get some well-earned rest.’


	11. Chapter Eleven

They stood in front of the portal to Svartalfheim ready and willing to step through. Tony was in the suit and Bruce had completely forgone wearing a shirt. And yet Thor couldn't take that final step. They waited for him in silence until it became just a little uncomfortable.

Steve stepped up and placed a hand on Thor’s shoulder. ‘Thor, is something wrong?’

‘No, my friend. I do not wish to go to this place.’ He sounded absolutely miserable.

‘Any particular reason? I know that these are the guys who were responsible for London but - ’

‘They killed my mother and Loki.’ Thor said blankly.

‘Thor.’ Steve paused, seemingly considering his words. ‘I’m sorry. For your loses.’

Tony glanced over at Clint who stared back in shock.

‘Thor,’ Bruce moved to stand in front of the god. ‘We are sorry for what you’ve lost, even if you don’t believe us. Despite what Loki did, he was your brother and you should feel … comfortable grieving for him and your mother around us. We won’t ever hold your grief against you, I promise,’ Bruce smiled at Thor and gently began to lead him closer to the portal. ‘But right now, we need you to focus on why we’re going to Svartalfheim in the first place. We are going to rescue the Norns and bring them back here to care for the world tree. You can do this. We are going to do this together and none of us are going to die in this place.’

Bruce and Thor walked through the portal, followed by Tony and Steve, and then Natasha and Barton.

This world was pretty much what Tony had been expecting. Svartalfheim was dark and no more than bare rock. Tony could easily imagine Loki dying in place like this but wisely kept his mouth shut.

The land was desolate, flat planes of desert surrounded them with low mountains rimming the horizon. Their sight was obstructed by dirt that was picked up by what little breeze there was and deposited in mid-air, like all life had stopped. The dark light made for little reflection, leaving only the barest hint of what might lie in wait for them.

Tony could see Bruce talking quietly with Thor and he figured that Natasha was talking to Clint behind them.

Tony had been happily surprised when he’d put the suit on and heard JARVIS talking to him.

‘Sir, is everything alright? You’re heart rate is elevated.’

‘Just the cold, J,’ Tony replied. ‘Don't worry about it.’

‘Sir.’ JARVIS began.

‘JARVIS? What have I told you about prying?’

‘You have told me nothing about prying, sir. You built it into my codes.’

‘I did? Oh, just … stop it. Scan this place for any life signs and let me know.’ Tony switched to his external speakers. ‘So, fancy meeting you here.’

‘Very fancy, Tony,’ Steve answered. He’d been on edge since they arrived and Tony couldn't really blame him. ‘Did you know about Loki?’

‘No idea, Cap. I didn't know about his mother either.’

‘Neither did I.’ There was something in Steve’s voice that made Tony flip up his faceplate and look at him.

‘Steve, you still with me?’

‘Huh? Yeah, I’m still with you, Tony.’ Steve answered distractedly.

‘What did you draw? For the elves?’

‘I drew my mother,’ Steve smiled. ‘The way she looked before she got sick, sitting in a garden. I wish I’d had colours too but.’ Steve shrugged.

‘So you’ll draw it again when we get back. Simple.’ Tony shrugged too even though it didn’t really show in the suit.

‘Sir.’

Tony flipped the faceplate back down. ‘What’s up, JARVIS?’

‘I have found five life signs four miles from you current position.’

‘Just five? The Norns, Amora and what, a bodyguard? That’s not much.

‘Sir, five life signs does not mean five people.’

‘Geez, J, have some faith in me won’t you?’

‘Past experiences are clouding my judgement, sir.’ JARVIS replied, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

‘Snarky AI,’ Tony teased and flipped the faceplate back up. ‘JARVIS found five life signs four miles from here.’

‘Just the five?’ Thor asked.

‘Apparently.’ Tony responded.

‘Amora and her Executioner.’

‘Her what now?’

‘Skurge the Executioner. He is Amora’s … bodyguard, I suppose. He is a runt compared to others of his kind and he wields a double edged battle axe. He is a fearsome warrior and he is not to be underestimated.’

‘When you say “runt”, how short are we talkin’?’ Barton questioned.

‘Perhaps seven feet tall.’ Thor replied.

‘Oh, so, nice and easy for us to take down. That’s good.’ Barton responded.

Thor abruptly dropped down behind a rock jutting out of the ground, the others following suit. Well, mostly. It wasn't exactly easy to crouch in the suit and so Tony had to lie on his back to avoid being seen. Natasha had to clap both her hands over Barton’s mouth to muffle his laughter.

‘Fuck you, Barton. What's happening?’

‘We can see them,’ Bruce explained. ‘The Norns are chained to a throne and Amora is sitting on it. I can’t see the Executioner.’

‘He will be near.’

‘Sir! Behind you!’

Tony twisted in time to see a massive hand coming down and grabbing him around the chest and bodily lifted him off the ground.

‘Ah, shit. JARVIS, thrusters.’

JARVIS didn’t bother responding. As the others raced away, Tony managed to squirm out of the guy’s grip and chased after the Avengers. He could hear the thumps of the Executioner racing along behind them and he lifted up a lagging Bruce.

‘Think you should probably Hulk, ah, fuck.’

Bruce’s skin was turning green and rippling beneath the gauntlets. Tony held on for as long as he could worried about dropping his friend. When holding on was no longer an option, he twisted in mid-flight and threw the still transforming Bruce at the Executioner.

Skurge the Executioner seemed a lot bigger than seven feet and he looked mean. He wore armour in blue and red and had some kind helmet thing on. The massive axe he wielded was a sharp, crafted weapon designed to cut through anything in its path. Which probably including metal suits made by some Midgardian.

The Hulk dropped onto the Executioner and the two of them began fighting in earnest. Tony just hoped that Hulk would be able to handle it.

As he rejoined the others, Tony got his first look at Amora. Her blonde hair was blowing around her face by the strong winds and she was wearing a green dress. Tony idly wondered if there was some agreement among the Asgardian bad guys about the colour. Either way, Amora looked about as crazy as Loki had.

‘Amora! Release the Norns now!’ Thor roared as he landed before her throne.

‘Thor, my love. I was hoping the Allfather would send you to me.’ Amora cried from her throne.

‘The Norns, Amora.’ Thor repeated firmly.

‘Oh, I think not, Thor. I want to keep them here. They are so pleasant to be around. But, I suppose if you can free them you can take them. Though I would be quick about it if I were you. My Executioner will kill your monster soon.’

‘The Hulk is not a monster and he will defeat the Executioner.’ Thor took a step forward to reach the Norns when he seemed to run into a wall.

‘No, no, my love. I am protected. You will need to beat my warriors to reach me.’

‘What warriors?’ Barton asked.

‘These, archer.’

Amora waved her hand, a green light enveloping it, a battalion of un-dead warriors appeared before them.

‘You just had to ask, didn't you.’ Natasha said even as she pulled her guns and shot one of the warriors. The warrior, thank fuck, dropped and didn’t get back up.

‘And now we get to kill the dead.’ Barton notched an arrow and started firing.

Tony took to the air and started firing blast after blast at the ghost warriors. From his vantage point, Tony was able to guide the Avengers in their attack, helping to coordinate Steve and Natasha to fight back any straggling un-dead that Thor missed when barging in. Barton was alternating between firing arrows and hand-to-hand combat.

‘Iron Man, are you able to hit Amora?’ Cap didn't even sound as though he was fighting.

Tony fired a blast towards the witch but it didn't reach her. ‘Negative, Cap. It kinda dispersed a couple feet from her.’

‘Hawkeye, get Iron Man to take you up and see if you can get her with an arrow.’

‘Gotcha. Stark?’

‘Hold your horses, Barton, I’m comin’.’

Tony swooped down and plucked Barton up and flew them up till Barton told him to stop. Tony kept them steady as Barton notched an arrow, aimed and fired.

The arrow never made contact. Amora had seen it coming and sent it spinning away with a wave of her hand.

‘Got the arrow through but she stopped it.’ Barton reported as Tony dropped him into the middle of a group of ghosts and started blasting them.

‘Understood, Hawkeye. Iron Man, can you see Hulk?’

Tony blasted a ghost climbing onto Thor’s back and twisted in the air to find Hulk. He and the Executioner were some distance away still battling it out.

‘He’s still fighting axe guy and seems okay.’ Tony reported over the comm link and turned his attention back to Amora.

‘JARVIS, scan the Norns and the area around Amora. Let me know.’

While JARVIS ran his scans, Tony blasted away the ghosts and realised something. Although the ghosts were falling and staying down, each one they took out was replaced by two more. Tony reported this to the others, and had to agree when Barton swore.

‘Scan them, Iron Man.’ Cap ordered.

‘Way ahead of you, Cap,’ Tony switched to his internal speakers. ‘J, please tell me you have something.’

‘I do, sir. The Norns appear to be healthy and unharmed. Amora is controlling the ghosts and seems to be calling them to her from … somewhere. Additionally, Amora is surrounded by a magnetic force field that is keeping out your repulsor blasts.’

‘Magnetic, huh? So, I gotta go low tech?’

‘Unless someone distracts Amora and Clint or Thor attack her directly.’

‘JARVIS, you are a genius.’

‘Thank you, sir.’

‘Guys, I have an idea. Well, actually it’s JARVIS’s idea but whatever, same thing. We need to distract Amora so that Thor or Hawkeye can get to her. She’s calling the ghost guys up from somewhere and she’s surrounded herself by a magnetic field. We need to distract her.’

‘I’ll do it,’ Thor offered his voice loud over the link. ‘Amora will be focused on me, and whoever is closest will be able to get to her.’

‘Agreed. Be careful, Thor.’

It took Thor several minutes to reach Amora but it didn’t take long for her attention to shift to Thor. As they began speaking, Widow and Hawkeye separately snuck up on crazy woman, while he and Cap kept the ghosts busy. Tony even lowered himself to landing and fighting beside Cap for a few moments before taking to the air again.

As Widow got closer to crazy, Hawkeye loosed an arrow which embedded deep into Amora's shoulder. Widow used that distraction to deliver a nasty looking blow to the base of Amora’s skull knocking her out. Before she’d even hit the floor the ghosts disappeared in a puff of mist.

Tony landed beside the throne and broke the chains holding them in place. Despite Thor telling them that the three women were almost sisters Tony couldn't see it.

One of the women was old and frail, the second middle aged, and the third looked to be in her twenties or early thirties. When they were free the Norns helped each other to their feet and faced them.

‘We thank you, Avengers, for saving us. We will give you a gift when we return to Yggdrasil.’

A loud crash echoed over the landscape capturing their attention. Off in the distance they could see the Executioner standing over an unmoving object hefting his axe up. Tony and Thor both flew off to reach them. Thor rugby tackled the giant while Tony landed near Bruce and raced over ordering JARVIS to check his stats.

‘Bruce is severely injured and he requires immediate medical attention. The doctor has internal bleeding and several broken or fractured bones. His pulse rate and his breathing are slowing.’

Tony’s eyes tracked over the visible skin of Bruce’s body noting the already forming bruises, the specks of blood on his lips and pouring from his nose. He was pale and Tony could only just see signs of breathing.

‘Bruce? Brucie, c’mon, wake up. Come on, you promised Thor, he’ll do puppy eyes and everything.’

Tony was vaguely aware of the others and Thor reaching them but his attention was solely focused on his friend.

‘We must get him to the healing rooms,’ Thor declared as he carefully picked Bruce up. ‘Heimdall! Take us back!’

As they flew through the portal, Tony was thinking only of Bruce and getting him better. When they finally, arrived back before the tree Thor continued to race off to get Bruce to the healing rooms, whatever they were. Tony was aware that the Norns stayed behind to care for the tree but he didn't care at all.

They followed Thor through Asgard to the healing rooms. A high ceilinged room with large windows letting in the bright light greeted them. A woman in deep blue dress came over and pressed one hand to Bruce’s forehead and the other over his heart.

‘He was beaten by the Executioner. He is able to turn into a beast called the Hulk. It is probably the only reason he still lives.’ Thor informed the woman.

‘Bring him here, Thor.’ The woman led them over to a bed and Thor gently laid Bruce out.

Tony watched as the woman was joined by two more healers, also women, also in blue. As the women started looking after Bruce they were chased back to the entrance and were directed to sit down to wait. Tony let the suit fold away, back into the briefcase and set it down on one of the chairs.

Tony tried to think over what the fuck had happened and couldn’t quite pin it down. The Hulk was a strong guy and though the Executioner had looked just as strong, Tony knew the Hulk. Knew that there was no way he would give up and, despite what Bruce thought, no way that he would let Bruce get hurt. So it made no sense. Tony scrubbed a hand over his forehead feeling weak. Before they’d left for Svartalfheim Tony had assured his teammates that he was fine, well enough to fight anyway. He had, of course, been lying.

JARVIS had already noted his elevated heart rate but Tony'd also been feeling faint and breathing seemed a lot harder.

When the room began spinning, Tony figured he should say something but the words wouldn't go past his tongue. He watched with detachment as the floor came up to say hello to his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that in canon Executioner has been dead for a while but I decided to play.


	12. Chapter Twelve

‘It’s about time you woke up.’ Clint lightly punched Tony’s arm.

Thor had been watching and waiting in silence for almost twelve hours for his friends to waken. When Tony had collapsed, he had taken him into the healers and left Clint and the lady Natasha to keep the good captain calm.

Two hours later, lady Sif had come to take him to a meeting with his father where they discussed the previous day’s events. Odin had listened to his story in silence and when he finished he’d hummed.

‘That is quite the adventure, my son. But, tell me, why would the Enchantress use Svartalfheim as her base? She does not enjoy the cold and the dark.’

‘No, she does not. I can think of only one reason why she would use Svartalfheim.’

‘And what reason is that?’

‘It is where Loki died. I would not be surprised if Amora used the realm as her base merely to hurt me.’

Odin had thought over this before dismissing Thor so that he may rejoin his friends.

Upon his return, Thor had found Volstagg waiting with his friends having brought food for them all. Thor thanked Volstagg, who clapped him on the shoulder and left them in peace. And now Tony had awoken twelve hours after he had collapsed.

‘What?’ Tony’s eyes searched their faces and then the room at large seeming utterly baffled.

‘You collapsed on us, man of iron,’ Thor supplied. ‘You had us worried, my friend.’

‘Oh. M ‘sorry.’

‘Don’t be sorry, Tony,’ Steve perched on Tony’s bed. ‘Why didn't you tell us you weren’t feeling well?’

‘Just shock.’ Tony muttered to them and then began to look around again.

‘Bruce is here,’ Thor offered moving so that Tony was able to see the still sleeping Bruce. ‘He is well and should wake soon.’

‘That’s good.’ Tony shifted in his bed and Steve helped him to sit up comfortably.

Thor heard Bruce shift and turned to him. ‘Doctor Banner? Bruce?’

Bruce’s eyes sluggishly fluttered open and he focused in on Thor’s face. He frowned, blinking away the remnants of sleep.

‘You are in the healing rooms of Asgard, my friend.’ Thor explained keeping his voice soft as though speaking to a child. ‘You were badly injured by the Executioner. I believe that the only reason you live still is because the Hulk was the one who hit the ground.’

‘Also ‘cos we get you back really quick.’ Clint added sitting cross legged on the end of Bruce’s bed.

‘Th - thank you.’ Bruce’s voice was raspy from under use and so Thor poured him some water and aided him in drinking from the cup. Bruce nodded his thanks when he was done.

‘How you feelin’, Brucie?’ Tony asked from his bed.

‘What - why are you in bed?’

‘Oh, I passed out when we got back here.’ Tony shrugged as though it were not an issue.

‘Idiot.’ The lady Natasha smacked Tony upside his head.

‘Hey, hey! I passed out! You can’t hit an in injured man.’

‘I didn't hit an injured man. I hit an injured moron who deserved it for not telling his friends that he was feeling sick. You’re lucky you’re only getting hit the once. Idiot.’

‘I knew you loved me, Tasha.’

‘Never.’

Thor listened to the two friends bickering and took a moment for himself to bask in this. After the Battle of New York, Thor had not been sure if he would ever be able to count these people amongst his friends. All because of what Loki had done to these people, especially to the Hawk and the Son of Coul. Thor would have understood if Clint had never spoken to him again. But after fighting beside him and speaking with him, Thor had been assured that he could count this man as a friend.

When Phil had returned, alive and well, Thor had been ecstatic to say the least. He had spoken with Phil after his return and the man had assured him he held nothing against Thor himself and that all was forgiven. Thor wasn't sure if he believed the man but he was willing to accept it. After all, they were friends.

An hour after they had woken, the healers allowed them to leave and they returned to Yggdrasil to ensure that the Norns were alright. The three women had gathered around their well filling a jug with water and mud. They poured the mixture over Yggdrasil's roots. They watched in awed silence as the final tendrils of black rot retreated, leaving the tree healthy.

‘Greetings, heroes,’ Skuld, the old woman greeted them, placing the pure white jug on the ground. ‘We welcome you back to the great Yggdrasil. I am Skuld, the future. These are two of my sisters, Verdani, the present, and Urd, the past. We are the guardians of the Urdarbrunnr and we are forever indebted to you. We wish to show you our thanks by giving you the gift of foresight.’

Thor was astonished by this offer. The Norns were renowned throughout the realms as beings of wisdom and knowledge. But more than this, they were responsible for shaping the destinies of gods and men.

The offering of such a gift from them was remarkable and not rejected or belittled.

‘Oh, no, ma’am, that’s not - ’ Steve began.

‘We will, of course, accept, my lady. My friends and I thank you for the gift. May we have a moment to discuss this?’ Thor interrupted Steve before he could cause any unintentional offence. The Norns nodded and Thor led them over to the entrance to Yggdrasil.

‘Thor, pretty sure I speak for the others when I say I don't wanna know my future.’ Clint said.

Thor grimaced, glancing back at the Norns. ‘I understand, my friends, I do. But please listen to me for a moment. The Norns are powerful beings. They write the destinies of men and gods. Though what they write is not set in stone,’ Thor amended when his friends seemed upset by that idea. ‘There is still room for individual agency. Free will. A gift such as this from the Norns cannot be ignored.’

‘I’m not sure.’ Tony said, looking at the Mimisbrunnr.

Thor wondered, not for the first time, what Tony had seen whilst he had been drowning in the well.

‘I assure you, my friends. The Norns are good and they merely wish to thank us for our help.’

‘We can’t say no?’

‘They will offer a different gift.’ Thor informed Steve.

‘Then okay,’ Steve nodded. ‘We’ll try.’

‘Thank you, my friends.’

As they rejoined the Norns, Thor considered that this could end … not good. He sat on the ground before the Norns who held in their hands six silver threads. He was glad to note that his friends sat upon the grass as well, though he heard Tony mutter something about dirt stains, Steve. Urd, with the looks of a maiden, a fire coloured braid over one shoulder, stepped forward on bare feet and looked at them with young eyes.

‘Avengers, you have survived great pain and misery in your time, yet you have emerged stronger, as a butterfly from her cocoon. You are haunted by those you have loved and those you have lost. The parents who created and birthed you have left marks, good and bad, on your lives, and you struggle still to crawl from beneath their shadows. You have been betrayed, you have been hurt and broken, torn apart and put back together, loved and hated, feared and rejoiced. You have known pain above your threshold and fear beyond measure. You have been shot, drowned, frozen, stabbed, choked, ripped open, crushed, despised and hunted. You have been forgotten and left behind. But you have been saved.

‘You have been dragged back from the brink of destruction by those with you now and by those you have left on Midgard. Your lives and your sanities have been saved by strangers and loved ones. You have found trust, love, and affection though you believed you were not worthy. Friendships and relationships have been born and have died. Some of you have discovered your heart of hearts, whilst the rest are still searching. Through your sufferings, your pains and your losses, you have come to know those who would protect you from the world if they could. Those who would, and have, given their lives so that you may live on and climb to greater heights.’

Verdani, a middle aged woman with dark skin and darker hair, held the middle of the silvery threads with calloused hands.

‘Avengers, you are weary from your journeys through the nine realms to bring us back to the mighty Yggdrasil. You wish for nothing more than to return home to your beds so that you may sleep and recover. As my young sister says, you have grown strong from your pains and yet you are still burdened by the spectres of your lives. Despite the lessons you have learnt, the mistakes you have made, you have found a balance that comforts you and keeps you steady. Hold on to this balance. Though Black Widow and Hawkeye have embraced their names and legends, the rest of you still battle with your names and the legends around you. People will always have their own ideas about who you are but you must not let them dictate who you decide to be. You are what you make yourself.’

Skuld, a wizened woman, with white hair and sunken grey skin, held the furthest end of the threads from where she sat amongst the roots, looking at them with blind eyes.

‘Your futures are uncertain, my children, for they will change with the decisions that you and those around you make. But, despite the changing nature of man, there are certainties. Loves and friendships will stand the test of time that will, in the end, survive pain and heartache. Soon, memories, long past, will return to haunt you and hurt you. But when these times come, and they will, you mustn’t forsake those with you now, for they will be crucial in helping you. You need not fear, though. These obstacles will pull you down, will rip out your heart, but you will heal from them. You will heal from all that comes for you. Remain together, remain strong, and there is nothing that can stop you.’

Dejected silence followed the words of the Norns. Thor was not sure what to think or how he should react the proclamations. And a glance at his friends revealed that they were as unsure as he. It was difficult to see his friends drowning in such confusion but what could he say to them? After all, he had been the one to convince them that they could not say reject the offer from the women they had rescued.

‘Well, thanks ever so for the lesson in depressing. As if Mimir’s shit wasn’t enough.’ Tony stood up, gave an obviously sarcastic bow and stalked away.

‘Please forgive him,’ Steve stood as well. ‘Tony was tricked into falling into Mimir’s well and it … hurt him. Thank you for the foresight.’ His thanks given, Steve smiled warmly at the Norns and followed after Tony.

Natasha and Clint stood as one though it was the lady Natasha who spoke, ‘Thank you, Norns, for your words. We appreciate the gift you have given us.’ Natasha took hold of Clint’s wrist and dragged him away.

‘I don't know what to say,’ Bruce explained. ‘But, I, thank you.’ With his humble thanks spoken, Bruce too left.

Thor glanced over at his friends, standing together in silence, before speaking to the Norns. ‘I truly do thank you for the gift of your knowledge.’

‘You are welcome, Thor, thunder god,’ Skuld said from her place on the floor. ‘But, Thor, you should know. Your brother, whom died in your arms in Svartalfheim, he still lives. We do not know where he is or what he plans, but he is alive somewhere. You must be careful, Thor. Keep your eyes open and your friends close. Be vigilant. Goodbye, thunderer, and thank you.’

 


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a tiny mention of domestic violence but it's nothing serious. It's just Tony describing something as abuse when it really isn't.

Odin was not a nice man. In Tony’s humble opinion, the guy was a complete dick.

Upon their return, they’d been summoned to the palace where, what looked to be the entire kingdom, awaited them. The people were crowded in around the throne, bodies crammed together as they awaited a glimpse of the heroes.

Thor walked like the prince he was for his people, nodding to the crowd in acknowledgement. The rest of them walked in awe of the scale of their surroundings, barely acknowledging their cheers.

‘Thor, my son, you and your teammates have done well in returning the Norns to their rightful place. The people of the nine realms are indebted to you all. I congratulate you on your efforts.’

And that had been it.

No actual thank you from the guy. No good job, guys! Fuck all.

Thor looked like he’d expected nothing less and had taken it in his stride. Steve had attempted to speak but Thor had lightly shaken his head in warning before thanking Odin and explaining that they could not stay for the celebratory feast.

They had left promptly with everyone packed and ready to go. Heimdall sent them home where they’d sat around together for a few hours, unsure of how to react to their experiences. Eventually, they found themselves heading their separate ways.

Tony, after showering, had disappeared down to his lab and hadn’t left since. So far, JARVIS had kept Bruce and Steve locked out, telling them that Tony was sleeping, and warning him that Barton was in the vents.

‘J, bird brain still in the vents?’

‘He is, sir. Clint is currently sitting in the vents above the kitchen on the phone with Agent Coulson.’

‘How is Agent?’

‘He appears to be berating Clint for going to Asgard without taking him along.’

‘Figures. He told him ‘bout Loki’s death yet?’

‘He is doing that now, sir.’

‘Thanks, JARVIS.’

‘You are most welcome, sir.’

Tony let his head fall back against the wall behind him and sighed. Butterfingers and You were on either side of him and the still-in-bits Dummy wasn't far away. Both bots beeped and whirred at him and Butterfingers pressed his claw against Tony’s shoulder.

‘Ah, Butterfingers, Daddy’s okay. Just tired, baby bot.’

More whirring and You pressed his claw against Tony’s other shoulder. He patted the arms of both bots and let his eyes slip closed.

He was instantly assaulted by the images he’d seen in the well. His eyes flew open and he had to bend forward to catch his breath.

‘Sir? Sir, breathe slowly. Listen to my voice, sir. Nothing else. You are at home in your lab, sitting between Butterfingers and You. Dummy is off to your left. You are safe at home in your Tower.’

‘I know,’ Tony blurted. ‘JARVIS, I know. I’m okay. I’m still here.’ Tony ran his hand over the arms of the bots beside him and looked over at Dummy.

‘Sir? May I ask what brought on your panic attack?’

‘Wasn't a panic attack, J.’

‘I’m afraid I will have to disagree with you, sir. You were trembling, your pulse increased, and you were having some difficulty breathing. Sir, you have suffered another panic attack, and Butterfingers and You are worried.’

‘What? No. No worrying. Baby bots,’ Tony continued running his hands over his bots to soothe them. ‘No worrying for Daddy, babies. I’m okay.’

‘Sir, they wish to know what occurred in Asgard that has brought on the panic attack.’

There was no way that he wanted to burden his bots and JARVIS with the shit he’d seen. But, at the same time, he knew that they would just keep making JARVIS ask him.

‘Aw, you guys don't wanna hear about that shit. Point is. We saved the nine realms. That's pretty cool, huh? Saved everything. How’s that for heroing? You boys better be proud of your daddy.’

The bots immediately began beeping and whirring at him, their claws digging in to shoulders and ribs.

‘They, we are proud of you, sir.’ JARVIS interpreted for him, a smile evident in his disembodied voice.

Tony’s laughter boiled up and spilled out of him. He pulled his bots closer to him and held them as he laugher. The laughter devolved into something more hysterical, tears coursing down his cheeks as he gasped for air.

‘Sir!’

JARVIS’s yelled pulled him back and he gulped down greedy breaths of air, nodding to assuage the doubt of JARVIS and his bots. He wiped his face with the back of his hands and drunk in the sight around him.

Many of the visions he’d seen had included his lab and he could see, in his mind’s eye, Steve standing beside him at a bench, a hand on his back. He could see himself inventing things he’d never yet thought of. He could see the futures of Pepper, Bruce, Steve, Barton, Natasha, Thor, fucking Reid, and people he didn't even know yet. Some gangly kid with messy hair, McCoy and Xavier. Things that were vivid but hadn’t yet happened.

He closed his eyes again and let the visions pass before his eyes again. Desperately trying to sort through the visions _again_.

‘Sir, Miss Potts is on her way down to see you. Shall I allow her entrance?’

‘Yeah, J, let he in.’

Tony heard Pepper inputting her code a few minutes later and listened to the sound of her clicking heels as she searched for him. He looked up from beneath his lashes when he heard her sigh.

Pepper, wonderful, beautiful Pepper, looked down at him with a small smile.

‘Why are you on the floor?’ His beautiful girl asked him.

‘Comfy.’ Tony explained. Pepper stared down at him for a long moment before slipping out of her heels and sitting down between Tony and Butterfingers. Pepper carefully took his hand in hers and pressed a small kiss to his cheek.

‘JARVIS told me you’d gone to Asgard and why. But I get the feeling that something happened to you there. You want to talk about it?’

Tony forced Pepper out of her stupid jacket and dropped his head against her bare shoulder. Pepper was stroking her thumb over his knuckles, her other hand resting on Tony’s thigh.

‘So. We went to Yggdrasil, the world tree, in Asgard. It kinda holds all the nine realms together or something. I dunno. Anyway. The Norns help protect the tree from rotting but they’d been taken so we had to find them and bring them back. The first place we went was called Niflheim …’

Tony talked for hours about what had happened. He told Pepper everything he could remember, though he didn’t tell her about some of the visions. There were some things that she didn’t need to know. The whole time he spoke Pepper remained quiet, stroking his knuckles to remind him that she was there and she was listening.

When he finally fell silent, Pepper kissed his hair, ‘Tony, I’m sorry. That’s. That wasn't nice of Mimir.’

‘Heh. Yeah, he's really not.’

Pepper wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pressed another kiss to his hair.

‘Tony, you saw so many different things. How do you know which ones will come true?’

‘I don’t, Pepper, but that’s kind the problem. I don’t know which are gonna happen and which are just possibilities. What if we do break up? What am I gonna do if that happens?’

‘Tony. If that’s what happens, then that’s what happens. And you’ll find a way to live without dating me. We managed before, right?’

‘But I don't wanna. Pepper,’ Tony whined, dragging the word out until Pepper dug her sharp nails into his thigh. ‘Ow! Abuse! I call sexy abuse!’

‘“Sexy abuse?” What the hell is “sexy” abuse?’

‘‘s ‘cos you’re sexy and your abusing me.’ Tony did not pout.

‘I am not abusing you, Tony,’ Pepper sighed, completely long suffering. ‘Tony, you are not allowed to think too much about those visions. You’ll only destroy yourself. Okay? I need to hear you say it, Tony, or I will get Rhodey.’

Tony rolled his eyes, ‘I promise, Pep. No more over thinking the visions or you’ll sic Rhodey on me.’

‘Good,’ Pepper kissed his hair again. ‘Now, what d’you want to do?’

‘Not sure.’

‘You’re thinking about the visions, aren’t you?’

‘Sorry,’ Tony replied sitting up and facing her. ‘You’re right, Pep. I know I shouldn't think about ‘em but I can’t, Pep. I can’t.’

Pepper shushed him gently and pulled him in close again, ‘You know what? I think you need a vacation.’

‘Sounds like plan. We could got to - ’

‘No, Tony,’ Pepper interrupted. ‘ _You_ need a vacation, Tony. You need to go away and think over it all.’

Tony pulled away to look at Pepper’s face. She looked … stricken. Sad.

‘Okay. I’ll go somewhere.’

‘Take Dummy with you. Finish fixing him.’

‘Yeah, yeah, okay,’ Tony stood up and started boxing Dummy up. ‘Will you tell everyone for me?’

‘Of course.’

Pepper took hold of Tony’s face between her hands and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. Tony groaned and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in closer, tilting his head to deepen the kiss.

Somehow, for him at least, the kiss felt like more than a _you’re-going-on-vacation-goodbye_ kiss. It felt more like a _goodbye_ kiss. He clung to her desperately digging his fingers into her the silk of her shirt wanting to feel skin. Just as he’d started pushing his fingers beneath the shirt Pepper pulled away from him.

‘Tony.’

‘Right, right, going.’

‘Clothes, Tony. You need to pack a bag and a suit.’

‘What? Oh, right.’

Tony raced from the lab up to his room to pack a bag as JARVIS organised the briefcase suit. As he ran back down Tony had walk past his team where they were watching something.

‘Of course.’

Pepper took hold of Tony’s face between her hands and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. Tony groaned and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in closer, tilting his head to deepen the kiss.

Somehow, for him at least, the kiss felt like more than a you’re-going-on-vacation-goodbye kiss. It felt more like a goodbye kiss. He clung to her desperately digging his fingers into her the silk of her shirt wanting to feel skin. Just as he’d started pushing his fingers beneath the shirt Pepper pulled away from him.

‘Tony.’

‘Right, right, going.’

‘Clothes, Tony. You need to pack a bag and a suit.’

‘What? Oh, right.’

Tony raced from the lab up to his room to pack a bag as JARVIS organised the briefcase suit. As he ran back down Tony had walk past his team where they were watching something.

‘Tony? Where are you going?’

‘Somewhere. Pep’ll explain.’

Tony ignored yells from Steve, Thor, and Barton to climb into the elevator down to the lab. He found Pepper packing up a toolbox under the direction of JARVIS. Butterfingers and You had stationed themselves by Dummy and were nudging the broken big brother.

‘Don’t worry guys. Me and Dummy’ll be back soon. And I’m sure someone’ll visit. Steve likes drawing down here. JARVIS, if they get lonely tell Steve or Bruce or. Actually just tell whoever and make sure they come down to play with these two.’

Pepper took his duffel bag from him and together they went down to the garage to load the bag, briefcase, and Dummy into the only SUV he owned.

‘Pep.’

‘Tony.’

‘I love you, you know that, right?’

‘I know, Tony, and I love you too,’ Pepper pulled Tony into a quick kiss before pushing him to get into the car.

‘Let them know I’m okay and I’ll be back soon. Tell ‘em not to call or anythin’, yeah?’

‘Everything but that last bit, Tony,’ Pepper kissed him again. ‘I’ll tell them to email. Have fun.’

‘Same to you.’ Tony initiated the kiss this time, unsure when he’d see her again.

He pulled away with a smile and climbed into the SUV to head to his place in Arizona, which no one knew about.

He was looking forward to focusing on Dummy.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

‘Sir, may I suggest you take a shower? You have not bathed in two weeks.’

‘Hush, JARVIS, ‘m almost done.’ Tony absently waved his hand in the vague direction of one of JARVIS’s cameras.

Tony had left civilisation almost three weeks ago now, choosing to retreat to a house once owned by his mother in the middle of Arizona. The home was a three story Italian style villa with all the modern necessities for a genius scientist slash mechanic. A coffee pot, a lab, a garage, a coffee pot, plenty of space, blast proofing, and a coffee pot.

Since arriving, he’d put everything into rebuilding his oldest bot. He was currently sitting in a mess of tools and odd parts while he worked in rebuilding Dummy. All he had left to do was attach his brand new arm.

‘Sir, you are beginning to smell.’

‘What would you know? You can’t smell. Motherfucker. JARVIS!’ Tony swore as the lights shut off.

‘I am fully aware that I have no olfactory sensors, but, as I said, you have not showered or bathed in two weeks. Even I know that you must be beginning to smell.’

‘You know, I don't remember giving you the ability to be mean to me.’ Tony pouted towards the camera. Probably where the camera is.

‘I apologise for insulting you, sir, but I fear I must insist. Your beard is no longer sculpted to, and I quote, “utter perfection”.’

‘What?’ Tony ran a hand over his face and was genuinely surprised to find that JARVIS was telling the truth. ‘Ah, shit. Alright, alright, shower time.’

Tony, slob that he was, stripped on his way to the shower, leaving a trail of clothes behind him, until he clambered into the shower. The hot water pounded down against his back in a pressurised waterfall and Tony could feel the tension seeping away. He washed away two weeks’ worth of grime, letting it seep away down the drain before leaning his forehead against the cool tiles and allowing the hot water to flow down his back.

His mind wandered, absently landing on an image from the well of Steve. His thoughts turned to lust quickly as faux memories of kisses played over and over, tempting him. He began to expand on the thoughts, tentatively imagining the feel of rough hands grazing over his neck, the feeling of hard muscles under his fingertips. Tony groaned and wrapped his hand around his dick and pulled in a slow stroke to thoughts of drawing desperate groans from the soldier. Fuck, it felt good. He imagined Steve, wet and naked after showering, droplets of water tracing his muscles down to the v of his hips. Tony thumbed at the head of his cock and shivered, thinking of gripping at hard biceps …

‘I’m sorry to interrupt, sir, but Colonel Rhodes is on his way.’

‘Fucking hell.’ Tony let his hand drop away, knowing he didn't have nearly as much time as he’d like to finish and changed the temperature of the water to freezing cold and rinsed his hair quickly. He clambered out of the shower to dry off and shave his beard back into its full glory. Tony focused on his face and removing the hair in the hopes that his dick would soften before Rhodey arrived.

By the time he’d finished JARVIS announced that Rhodey had pulled into the driveway. Tony pulled on a pair of jeans and a tank and went out to meet his friend.

‘Rhodey! What brings you out here?’

Rhodey, wearing jeans and blue polo, smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. ‘Came out to see you, Tones. Pepper called.’

‘The traitor,’ Tony decided, leading his friend inside. ‘You want a drink?’

‘Beer,’ Rhodey leant against the counter and Tony could feel him watching. ‘Hey, JARVIS, how’s he doing?’

‘Good afternoon, Colonel. Sir has only just showered for the first time in two weeks.’

‘Seriously, Tony? That’s nasty.’

‘Your nasty. And I was busy.’

‘Doin’ what?’ Rhodey accepted his beer with a nod and Tony propped his hip against the corner.

‘I’ve been putting Dummy back together.’ Tony took a sip from own beer, but only fancy beer, thank you, and shrugged off concern. ‘Stop that. With the face, stop it.’

‘Face? What face?’ Rhodey laughed into his beer.

‘The face of worry. It’s not a good face, I don’t like it. Stop.’

Rhodey’s warm laughter filled the air. ‘This is my normal face, Tony. I always look like this.’

‘Course you do, platypus, course you do.’ Tony laughed as well, happy to have Rhodey here.

‘How’s it going with Dummy?’

‘Good, just gotta reattach his arm and then upload the AI.’

‘You gonna leave ‘im how he was? Or are you gonna make him … smarter?’

‘Nah, I’m gonna leave ‘im.’ Tony wasn't surprised that Rhodey had asked. He’d been the first person to meet Dummy and he’d always liked the bot. ‘Wait, how’d you find me?’

Rhodey rolled his eyes. ‘I’ve been here before. You dragged me here for summer vacation one year. Jarvis let us order in twice a week and your mother taught me how to cheat at poker.’

‘Oh, yeah,’ Tony laughed. ‘I forgot about that. It took ages for you to pick it up and you still can’t beat me.’

‘Nah, I just let you win.’

‘Pfft, whatever you say, honey bear. Come on, I’ll show you Dummy.’

When they got down to the lab, they both sat down in front of Dummy and Tony started attaching the arm. While he worked, Rhodey stayed quiet, letting him do what he needed which he was grateful for. Until, of course, he ruined it.

‘So, Pepper told me about the vision stuff. You wanna talk about it?’ Rhodey kept his attention on the bot in front of him, giving Tony the opportunity to retreat if he wanted.

‘Nothin’ to talk about.’

‘Course not,’ Rhodey lightly pressed his fingers against Tony’s outstretched leg. ‘But something happened and you gotta talk to someone about it or you’re just…’

‘Just what, Rhodey? I’m just gonna end up like how I was after New York?’

‘Yes. Banner told Pepper you were in severe shock after the well thing and you ended up collapsing.’

‘Can’t trust anyone.’ Tony muttered.

‘Guess not. Tony. Please, talk to someone. It doesn’t need to be me or Pepper. Talk to Banner or Rogers. Hell, talk to that Coulson guy or JARVIS. Pick someone and talk to them about the visions. All of the visions, Tony. Pepper thinks you left stuff out.’ He added when Tony rolled his eyes.

‘Left out bits that would hurt Pep.’

‘Like?’

‘Nothin’ you need to know either.’ Tony finished attaching Dummy’s arm and stretched it out in different ways to make sure it was connected.

‘Tony,’ Rhodey moved his hand to Tony’s arm and squeezed. ‘What would’ve hurt Pepper? Tell me.’

Tony sighed, mentally weighing the pros and cons of telling Rhodey everything. ‘J, is the program ready to go?’

‘Not yet, sir. There are still some issues that you wanted to go over again.’

‘Damn,’ he sat back and watched Rhodey for a few moments. The man watched him in return, a hand resting on Dummy. ‘Fine, fine, but only ‘cause I know you won’t leave.’ Tony sat down and prepared himself.

‘The visions were all over the place, different things. Me doin’ stuff in the lab with different people, me evil or good or dead or not Iron Man. Fightin’ with people, beating myself up, working. In one of ‘em I took an axe to Dummy.’ Tony ran a hand over the struts of Dummy’s wheels. ‘But the stuff I left out, I … I was with other people. I mean, I kinda told her but I left out just how far some of the visions went.’

‘How far did they go?’

‘Sexy visions.’ Tony shrugged.

‘Yeah, Pepper doesn't need to know.’

‘Nope,’ Tony agreed as he began packing up his tools. ‘So that’s it. That’s all I left out.’

‘Who’d you see?’

‘Steve,’ Tony blurted out and winced when Rhodey’s jaw dropped. ‘Oh, come on, you’ve always known that I’m not exactly straight.’

‘Not why I’m surprised. Steve?’ Rhodey asked.

‘Yep.’

‘Anyone else?’

‘Nope. Just Steve. Always had a thing for Captain America when I was a kid.’

‘Yeah, I remember,’ Rhodey laughed. ‘You interested in him?’

‘As much as anyone with eyes.’

‘I have eyes and I don't want to bang Captain America.’ Rhodey pointed out.

‘That’s ‘cause your blind. And unpatriotic.’ Tony retorted.

Rhodey laughed at him in response. ‘Well, I’m satisfied that I don't need to worry about you. I’ll let you get back to Dummy,’ Rhodey traced the lines of Dummy’s body and stood up dragging Tony to his feet with him. ‘Call if you need anything, okay?’

‘You got it, honey bear.’

Tony escorted Rhodey out and watched him leave. Once the car had disappeared, he went back down to his lab and started reading over Dummy’s coding again. It needed to be perfect for his boy and he wouldn’t sleep, wouldn’t go back to New York until it was. Wouldn't go back until he’d fixed Dummy. Nothing was more important than fixing his bot. Nothing. Especially not showering, JARVIS, thank you very much.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

After a month of hiding, Tony had come back to the tower, bringing a newly restored Dummy with him. The bot was currently charging at the station in the lab, his brothers waiting patiently for him.

Confessing to Rhodey had eased his mind, if only a little, but it had allowed sleep to come a little easier and Tony had soon felt rested again. Since the day they’d met, Rhodey had been a calming influence on him and had always seen through his shit. Even if he was a little overbearing sometimes. But Rhodey's over-protective nature had been what he'd needed, considering some of the shit he'd done. And after all these years, Rhodey’s friendship and his honest take no shit attitude, was one of the most important things he had.

‘Sir, Dummy is 90% charged. He is beginning to run through his coding and is asking questions about where he has been and what happened to you and him.’

‘Bout time,’ Tony jumped down off the stool and joined the bots on the floor. ‘He’s almost up, guys.’ When Butterfingers and You whined at him, Tony patted them to reassure them and himself. The code was sound, no major changes, and Dummy’s new body was perfect and functioning well.

‘Dummy is … panicking, Sir. He requires reassurance from you.’

Tony automatically reached out to Dummy to caress the bot. ‘Why’s he panicking?’

‘The new body. He is saying that it feels wrong.’

‘Oh, Dummy, no, it’s okay,’ Tony pressed in closer to the bot, along with Butterfingers and You. ‘You needed a new body, baby. Your old one was destroyed and I couldn’t fix it so you get a nice shiny new one. Your brothers were easier to fix than you but they still got some new bits. You’re okay, I promise, you’re all better.’

‘He is calming down, Sir, and he wishes for me to inform you that he likes his new coding.’

Before Tony could respond, Dummy started whirring and moving around. His arm extended and bent, his claw opened and closed. His eye, his camera, swivelled around, focusing in and out. Dummy was testing out his new body, searching for weaknesses or new features. He jerked forward on his wheels and Tony and the other bots got out of the way as he zoomed around the lab, screeched to a halt, and raced off again. Dummy did this for several minutes before skidding to a stop in front of Tony and grasping at his shirt with his claw.

‘Hey, Dummy.’ Tony wrapped his hand around Dummy’s claw and patted the top of Dummy’s head. Dummy whirred at him and gripped tighter pulling Tony closer, forcing a laugh out of him. Tony wrapped his arms around the bot and hugged him.

‘Dummy wishes to know if you are injured. I have tried to reassure him myself but he is no longer listening to me.’

‘I’m not hurt, Dummy, all in one piece. Promise, you ridiculous thing. Listen to JARVIS for once, would you?’

Dummy beeped happily at him and pulled away to play with his brothers. Tony flopped onto his couch and watched the bots racing around with each other, beeping and whirring. Tony lay his head back against the cushions and let himself fall asleep.

\--

‘Stark!’

Tony jerked awake, a blanket slipping down his shoulders to pool in his lap, and stared blearily up at Coulson.

‘Coulson?’

Tony looked around. His bots were in their charging stations watching him. He used the back of his hand to wipe the drool off his chin and rubbed at his eyes.

‘Good to see you back, Stark. Where’d you go?’

‘None of SHIELD’s business.’ Tony replied forcing himself to his feet. He immediately grasped at Coulson’s arm when a wave of dizziness overcame him from moving too fast. The stupid agent sighed and grasped at Tony’s wrist to keep him steady.

‘Do not throw up on me.’ Coulson warned. Tony patted at his arm and slowly moved away from the man. He totally wasn't gonna throw up.

‘JARVIS? Time?’

‘Nine thirty AM, Sir. You slept for eight hours.’

‘Eight? Really? Huh.’

‘Yes, a complete surprise.’ Coulson grasped Tony’s arm just above the elbow and started dragging him out of the lab. ‘You need to eat.’

‘Not hungry, bots to play with.’

‘Later. I’m sure JARVIS can keep an eye on them and will let you know if they need you.’

‘But, bots.’

‘No bots, food.’ Coulson pushed him into the elevator and stood by him as it started to rise.

‘Wait, you didn’t press the button.’

‘I don’t need to, Stark. JARVIS has control of the elevator and I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.’

‘Yeah, but JARVIS doesn't like you.’

‘No, Stark, you don't like me. JARVIS likes anyone who makes sure you eat and sleep.’

‘Agent Coulson is correct, Sir.’

‘I hate you.’ Tony muttered to his AI and the agent.

As soon as they entered the kitchen, Tony was overwhelmed by his friends greeting him.

‘Tony! You’re back!’ Steve announced when they walked in.

‘Yes, Captain Obvious, I have indeed returned to my tower as I am wont to do.’

‘It’s good to have you back, Tony.’ Wonderful science brother Bruce said clapping a hand on his shoulder.

‘Friend Tony! I am glad you have returned, and healed as well.’ Thor’s greeting was, as always, a tight hug and a slap on the back.

‘Yep, right, thanks.’ Tony wheezed out.

‘Glad you’re not dead.’ Barton intoned from his perch on the kitchen counter. Coulson slapped at Barton’s arm but the archer smirked at him and pressed a disgustingly sweet kiss to his cheek.

‘Good to see you, Stark.’ Natasha said from where she was stabbing at an apple.

‘Yes, yes, I’m back at the tower, wonderful, whoop de doo, can we move on now? Where’s my breakfast?’

‘Wherever you’re about to get it from.’ Barton said.

‘Fuck you, Barton,’ Tony skirted around the edge of the group to get to the coffee pot. Just as he got there his view was blocked. ‘Muscles.’ He muttered like the genius he was.

‘Hello, Tony,’ Muscles, _Steve_ , said. Tony forced his eyes away from Steve’s abs, why did this man only have tight shirts, and looked up to meet bright blue eyes.

‘Hello, Steve. Coffee.’ Tony pointed around the man of muscle to his lifeline. Steve laughed softly and moved back allowing Tony to pounce on the machine and get to the liquid contained within.

‘I really am glad you’re back,’ Steve stated passing Tony his mug. ‘I know you took Dummy with you. Is he better?’

‘He is. Finished him last night. He’s all charged and getting used to his new body and code but it’ll take time.’

‘Good.’ Steve smiled as Tony downed his coffee and could feel himself coming to life. He glanced up at Steve, who was still smiling and huffed. Steve squeezed Tony’s bicep and moved away.

Tony watched the evil muscle man go and mentally kicked himself.

He had Pepper, what else could he need?

\--

Pepper was curled up beside him, listening to him talk about Dummy’s code. They’d had a nice dinner which Tony had not cooked, and had curled up on the couch a while ago.

‘So, he’s all better then?’ Pepper asked taking a sip of wine.

‘Yep, all better.’ Tony grabbed the bottle of wine and topped Pepper off.

‘Mr Stark, I do believe you’re trying to get me drunk.’ Pepper said even as she took another sip.

‘Miss Potts, I do believe you may be right.’ Tony joked back. Pepper watched him for a moment before placing the wine glass on the table and turned to face him.

‘Tony, are we okay?’

‘What? Course we are.’ Tony traced a line over Pepper’s soft cheek with the tip of his finger.

‘You sure?’ Pepper turned her head into the touch, a soft smile gracing her features.

‘Yep. Why?’ Tony tapped the tip of Pepper’s nose to keep her attention.

‘You disappeared for a month.’

‘You said I needed to.’

‘Yes, but I thought you’d at least tell me where you were going. Rhodey said he’d spoken to you but he wouldn't tell me how.’

‘Don't blame Rhodey. It’s a long standing agreement, you could say. I don't like anyone knowing about … the place I went.’

‘Including your girlfriend.’ Pepper pulled away from him and Tony sighed, wanting to reach out.

‘Including my girlfriend. Pep, I’m sorry but I need something for myself, right?’

‘Something for yourself? Tony, you have plenty for yourself. You’ve got the damn suits, even though you promised me.’ Pepper abruptly stopped speaking, her eyes going wide.

‘Promised you what, Pepper?’

Pepper sighed and rubbed a hand over her forehead. 'The suits, Tony. You promised you wouldn’t make any more.’

‘No, I promised that I wouldn't let it take over again. I never promised to stop completely.’ Tony remembered making that promise.

‘And what about the arc reactor?’ Pepper asked vehemently. Tony pressed a hand over the reactor.

‘What about it?’

‘You told me you were going to get it taken out.’ Pepper said sliding away from him.

‘I’m working on it,’ Tony promised. ‘I am, Pep, I just gotta be sure that the surgery won’t kill me.’

‘You’ve worked that out already!’ Pepper yelled at him. ‘I know you’ve worked it out.’ She repeated quieter.

‘I need to be sure,’ Tony said reaching for his glass. ‘I just gotta be sure and I’m not yet.’

‘I don’t believe you.’ Pepper said.

Before Tony had a chance to respond the glass wall blew inwards. He instinctively leapt forward and covered Pepper’s body with his own. When the glass settled Tony looked around and saw fucking Doom hovering outside the window. He made a mental note to rip Reed a new one and figure out how the Latverian dipshit had learnt to fly, and pulled Pepper behind the couch.

‘JARVIS!’

‘The Avengers are on their way, Sir …’

The rest of what the AI was going to say was lost over the howling wind but he did hear the roar of the Hulk and lightning crackle outside. He turned his attention to Pepper who was bleeding from a cut on her arm.

‘Pepper?’

‘Tony?’ Pepper’s voice cracked and her eyes were fearful. His strong Pepper, who’d survived Extremis, was scared.

‘Iron Man!’

Tony looked around at the sound of Coulson and waved him over. ‘Coulson, get her out of here. Keep her safe.’

Coulson nodded and hauled Pepper to her feet and led her out of the penthouse. Tony knew the agent would keep Pepper safe no matter what. He looked around the side of the couch and could see Hulk, Thor, and Cap engaging Doom while Hawkeye was busy with a couple of Doombots.

‘Stark,’ Black Widow slid to her knees beside him throwing the briefcase suit at him. ‘JARVIS asked me to get this for you.’

‘Thanks, Tasha.’

The suit, in Tony’s opinion, took far too long to come together. Once it had he read over the information the HUD was giving him about Doom and how he was flying. Some kind of update to his boots.

‘JARVIS? The building?’

‘Is being evacuated as we speak. Power is at 90%. I would suggest you be sparse with your repulsor blasts as a precaution.’

‘Got it, J.’

‘Iron Man?’ Cap asked over the comm link.

‘I’m here. Coulson, you online?’ Tony flew out towards Doom, determined to get those damn boots off him.

‘I’m online. Pepper and I are out of the building along with everyone else. Pepper’s got some scrapes but she’s holding it together.’

‘Good. Keep her safe.’

‘She’ll be fine with me, Stark. Focus on your fight.’

Tony did focus back on the fight. It took only a few minutes before Tony managed to grab hold of Doom and yelled for Hawkeye to shoot out his boots. As soon as the boot short circuited, Tony let Doom go and they let him fall in stops and starts for about two hundred feet. Tony grabbed him and flew him down to the ground passing him off to the SHIELD agents.

‘Coulson? Where are you?’ Tony asked looking around.

‘Ambulance on the way to SHIELD medical. Pepper took a hit to the head from falling debris and collapsed a few minutes ago. The doctors at SHIELD are going to put her into an induced coma for her to heal.’

Coulson’s voice washed over Tony, his words merging together after “collapsed”. He stood there, surrounded by agents, SI employees, and civilians, frozen to the spot, mind blank.

‘Iron Man? Tony?’ Cap shook Tony back into awareness.

‘SHIELD.’ Tony said.

‘You aren’t flying,’ Steve said. ‘Clint’s going to take us all to SHIELD in the Quinjet, come on.’

Tony let Steve guide him away from the crowds and onto the Quinjet where JARVIS folded the suit off him and back into its briefcase. Tony noticed that Bruce, who usually steered clear of them all after turning back, was with them looking a little worse for wear. Bruce caught Tony’s eye and smiled softly at him.

As they lifted off, Tony could only think of Pepper and hoping against hope that she would wake up.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

The first sensation that came back was sound. Beeping, the rustle of paper, and soft breathing. Disorientation clouded her judgement as she tried to sit but needles connected to her prevented the movement.

‘Pepper?’ A voice whispered.

Pepper blinked her eyes to force them to focus in the harsh light. Eventually she could make out a suit and the smiling face of Phil Coulson.

‘Pepper? It’s Phil, everything’s okay. You’re in SHIELD medical, and you’ve been in an induced coma for just under a month.’

Pepper nodded but found herself scoping out the room anyway, checking for anything out of the ordinary but found the room to be pretty average. A small room of four walls and a door with a pale colour scheme and an ugly brown couch along one wall and the foul smell of disinfectant.

‘Tony isn’t here,’ Phil said grabbing her attention. ‘Bruce and Steve frog marched him down to the cafeteria ten minutes ago.’

Pepper nodded in response. Her mouth still felt dry and she looked towards the bedside table where a jug of water sat. Phil, mind reader that he was, poured a glass and helped her drink some down.

‘Easy, drink slowly.’ Phil forced her to stop before she could drink everything and replaced the glass.

‘Thank you.’ Her voice was raspy.

‘Try not to talk too much.’ Phil reminded her.

‘A month?’

‘Three and a half weeks,’ Phil amended. ‘You received a hard blow to the base of your skull sometime during the fight as well as a slash to your arm and a small cut to your forehead.’

‘Hmm,’ Pepper closed her eyes to avoid the lights above her. ‘Tony?’

‘Cafeteria with Bruce and Steve,’ Phil gently reminded her. ‘He’s not been eating or sleeping properly.’

Pepper fell silent for several moments, allowing her mind and body to catch up to each other. When she felt a little bit more human, she carefully forced her body to sit up, with some help, and ignored the mild dizziness. When it passed, she managed a small smile for Phil in thanks.

‘Phil, if I were to ask you something … personal would you answer me truthfully?’

‘Probably. What's the question?’ Phil passed her another glass of water. ‘Drink slow.’

‘Thank you.’ Pepper took a sip and watched Phil as she asked ‘If you were me, would you continue a relationship with Tony?’

Phil was clearly shocked by the question but took it in stride. ‘I honestly don't know.’

‘Not helpful.’

‘I’m sorry, Pepper,’ Phil replied smiling. ‘My relationship with Clint is based on our similar backgrounds. And because we don't worry about the other getting hurt due to our relationship. Which is what you’re worried about.’

‘Yes,’ Pepper said looking away from him. ‘I don't want to be with him if I’m going to keep getting hurt.’

‘Pepper,’ Phil lightly touched her arm. ‘Regardless of your love for him, if you don't think you can be with him, then you can’t be with him.’

‘How do you manage with the worry? That Clint won’t come home?’

‘I trust whoever he’s got for backup, usually Natasha or myself, which makes it easier.’

‘I trust the Avengers,’ Pepper responded to assure Phil. ‘I just worry that Tony won’t be there when I need him.’

‘You don’t trust Tony?’ Phil asked surprised.

‘I trust him with everything except him being there when I need him. After everything with Killian and the Mandarin things were supposed to get better.’

‘Better how?’

‘He was going to stop building suits. He was going to have surgery to remove the arc reactor. But he hasn't kept those promises, Phil. What am I supposed to do with that?’

‘I’m not sure,’ Phil admitted softly. ‘Did he actually say that he’d stop making suits?’

‘Well, that’s how I remember it but he said he promised not to let it get out of hand.’

Phil was silent for a moment before sighing. ‘Pepper, I’m not sure what to tell you. But from what you’ve said I think you already know what you’re going to do.’ Phil squeezed Pepper’s arm. ‘I’ll get the doctor to check you over.’

Phil slipped out of the room leaving Pepper to her thoughts.     

Pepper knew she loved Tony and had for a long time. But the man she’d known all those years ago no longer existed. Now, she felt as though she wasn’t sure who Tony was. Tony had changed for the better after he’d come back from Afghanistan but since New York and Extremis he'd changed for the worse.

His tinkering had destroyed him. Building all those suits had taken something away from the man she loved. There was less of him now. He was so focused on saving the world that he was ignoring himself and her. This was the second time that Pepper had ended up seriously hurt because she was linked with Tony and she was tired. She didn't think she could do it anymore.

‘Miss Potts?’ An older man with silver hair and kind brown eyes came into the room with Phil on his heels. ‘My name is Doctor Griffiths. May I examine you?’

Pepper nodded her assent and the doctor began. She paid just enough attention to answer his questions, too caught up in her thoughts to do anything else.

‘Well, Miss Potts, your vitals are normal and the cuts and abrasions have healed. I think you can go home tomorrow.’

‘Thank you, doctor.’ Pepper had the sense of mind to respond to the kind man and even managed a smile as the he left. Just as Phil went to speak the door flew open and Tony raced into the room and pulled Pepper into a tight hug.

‘Pep, Pepper, my Pepper.’ Tony rambled on and on for several minutes as he checked over her injuries himself.

‘Tony, I’m alright. It’s okay.’ Pepper grabbed Tony’s hands and held them still allowing him the time to calm down and breathe.

‘Pepper.’

‘Tony.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Tony buried his face against the side of her neck. His warm breath brushed over the cold skin of her neck making her shiver. ‘I’m sorry you got hurt, Pepper, it won’t happen again. I promise.’

Oh, if only he’d said something different. Pepper sighed and forced Tony to move back. His brow creased in confusion and it took everything Pepper had to stop herself from pulling the ridiculous man back into a hug.

‘I think we need to talk.’

‘No, no talking,’ Tony said pulling his hands away and settling down alongside Pepper. ‘You need to rest.’

‘I’ve been in a coma for over three weeks, Tony. I’ve had plenty of rest.’

‘Then you need more rest.’ Tony implored as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held her close. Pepper sighed and allowed her head to drop onto his shoulder.

‘I can’t keep doing this, Tony. I can’t keep wondering if you’re going to come back to me or if maybe next time you won’t get to me in time and I’ll be too hurt to heal.’

‘I’ll always get to you in time, Pep, you know that.’

‘No, I don’t,’ Pepper sighed and sat up so she could look at Tony. ‘I know you’ll try but that doesn’t mean you will. Tony, you left it up to JARVIS to tell me that you’d gone to Asgard.’

‘I should’ve called myself, I know, but time constraints and stuff.’

‘Nice try. Clint had time to call Phil so why didn’t you?’

Tony ran a hand through his hair and rubbed at the back of his neck. ‘Cause I knew you’d try to talk me out of it.’

‘Yes, I would have. Do you know why?’

‘Because you didn’t want me to go to Asgard?’ Tony asked knowing it wasn’t the answer.

‘Because I wouldn’t want you to leave me behind while you go off and get yourself killed.’ Pepper sighed and took Tony’s hand between hers again. ‘Listen to me, please? I love you, Tony, and I always will. But I don’t think I can be with you. You care more about your suits then you do me and I can’t come second place to a machine anymore.’

‘The suits aren't a machine, Pep. They’re part of me.’

‘They are machines and they are not a part of you.’ Pepper stressed.

‘I am Iron Man and Iron Man is me,’ Tony said. ‘Iron Man saved me, Pep. You remember what I was like before and I don't wanna go back to that. I can’t.’

‘And I can’t play second fiddle to it,’ Pepper pressed a light kiss to Tony’s cheek. ‘I love you but this has to end.’

‘No, Pepper, please. Please don't leave me.’ Tony implored, squeezing her hands. ‘What am I supposed to do without you?’

‘We can still be friends, Tony, and I’ll still run your company. I just can’t be your girlfriend. Tony, I’m sorry.’

Tony watched her for a minute before pressing his face against her collarbone. Pepper ran her hands over Tony’s back and pressed a kiss to his hair.

‘Okay.’ Tony said once he’d pulled himself together. ‘If that’s what you want than okay.’

‘It’s not what I want, Tony, it’s what I need. There’s a difference.’

‘Since when?’ Tony asked finally smiling.

‘Since I said so.’

‘Fair enough,’ Tony said. He leant forward and pressed a kiss to Pepper’s lips. ‘I’m sorry that it came to this.’

‘So am I, Tony, but there’s nothing you can do about it. Not now.’

Tony smiled and shifted on the bed so that he was laying down beside her, their hands clasped together. They lay there in silence, enjoying each other’s company, until Pepper fell asleep, glad that Tony had taken it so well. This way they could stay friends, stay working together. Hopefully.  


	17. Chapter Seventeen

‘These readings are weird.’ Tony said reading over the newest set of results.

‘How so?’

‘There’s high readings of potassium.’

‘Potassium?’ Bruce took his glasses off and rubbed at one eye with his knuckles.

‘Yeah, like in bananas.’

‘I know what potassium is, Tony.’ Bruce joined Tony and read over it for himself.

‘Weird, right?’ Tony asked.

‘A little, yes. But no weirder than the rest of this.’ Bruce pointed out.

‘Point to you.’

Tony and Bruce were working in Bruce’s lab on some pink goo SHIELD had found at a crime scene. SHIELD scientists hadn’t been able to identify it so they’d passed it on to Bruce who’d asked Tony for help.

He was grateful to Bruce for dragging him out of his lab and away from his hidden booze stash to work on something Bruce could've done alone. But he’d asked for help and Tony couldn't deny Brucie.

‘Thanks, Bruce.’ Tony said as he passed behind the man.

‘Pardon?’ Bruce asked smirking.

‘You heard me, I ain’t saying it again.’

‘You’re welcome, Tony.’ Bruce laughed.

‘Yep.’ Tony responded distractedly.

‘Tony. How are you doing?’

Tony froze at the question. So far, everybody else had left him alone, allowing him to wallow. Bruce was the only one who’d dragged him out and given him something to do. But this was the first time Bruce had asked him anything.

Pepper had moved out of the tower a week ago and had gone to Europe for a bunch of meetings. Tony could admit that he was little depressed by her leaving and the break up. He’d managed to avoid getting blind drunk so far but it was a close thing.

‘I’m fine.’ Tony replied. Bruce, in reply, just looked at him. ‘Okay, so maybe “fine” isn’t the right word, but whatever. Closest I can get.’

‘Without telling me the truth.’

‘Correct.’ Tony reached over and tapped Bruce’s nose. ‘I do miss her, Bruce, but it’s better this way.’

‘Better how?’ Bruce asked.

‘Pepper was right. Being with me was becoming too dangerous for her. She couldn’t, she couldn’t stay and I wasn't gonna make her.’

‘You still love her.’

‘Always will. Pepper’s been my PA, my CEO, my girlfriend and I have always and will always love her. But she’s right. We can’t, she can’t be with me anymore and I don’t blame her. She’ll be safer this way. Happier. Maybe she’ll even find someone who can be there for her.’

‘You were there for her when she needed you.’ Bruce tried to reassure him.

‘Not always,’ Tony said forcing a smile. ‘I promised her I’d get rid of the reactor -’ Tony pressed a hand over the reactor ‘- but I lied. I don’t know how to get rid of it. I mean, I worked out a safe way to do it, but. I don’t think I can.’

‘Why not?’ Bruce led Tony over to a stool and got him to sit.

‘The reactor saved my life, Bruce. Before it I was, well, you watch the news, you know what I was like. I was an asshole. Still am, but less. Assholey.' Tony waved his hands at himself. 'But the reactor, Iron Man, saved me, Bruce. Without it I don’t know where I’d be and I can’t lose that.’

‘So don’t,’ Bruce said smiling. ‘If you don’t think you can live without the reactor, then don’t. Leave it where it is and keep going. I understand why you’d want to get rid of it just as much as I understand why you need to keep it.’

‘I don’t think Pepper did.’

‘But that’s not on you, Tony. If Pepper didn’t understand why you couldn't remove the reactor or why you can’t stop building suits, then that’s on her. Assuming you tried to explain it to her.’

‘I did, Brucie, few times. But I could never find the right words.’

‘So long as you tried. And if Pepper didn’t understand that then, then chances are she may never.’

‘But I can’t do it without Pepper either.’

‘Yes, you can, Tony. You’ve done it without her before.’

‘Yeah, but there was Rhodey and Obie. And look how that turned out.’

‘You've still got Rhodey. Plus you've now got me, Steve, Clint, Tasha, Phil, Thor. You haven’t lost her, Tony, you’re just not dating anymore. I think you can deal with that, can’t you?’

‘S’pose.’ Tony admitted.

‘You will, Tony. And when you need help, you ask. You move on from Pepper how you need too, so long as you remember that you have friends who care about you. People who only want the best for you.’

‘Thanks, Brucie,’ Tony said a real smile shining through. ‘Now, pink goo.’

‘Pink goo with high levels of potassium.’

‘Weird.’

Bruce moved away to go over the readings and do more tests. Tony took a moment for himself to process.

Pepper had been part of his life for a long time. Their relationship had changed and evolved so much that Tony couldn’t quite remember when he’d fallen in love with her. Sometime after he’d gotten back from Afghanistan. That’s where most of what made Tony _Tony_ had changed. Some of it not necessarily better, but changed and he didn't regret a single damn thing that had happened after that point. Some of the stuff that happened before that affected stuff after those he regretted. But he couldn't do anything about that stuff.

He’d truly loved Pepper, but he didn't have that anymore. No more loving Pepper, not like that anyway. Friend, CEO, nothing more, nothing less. Fucking visions had been right.

Whatever.

Pink goo with lots of potassium. Far more important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by [such-a-pain-in-the-cas](http://such-a-pain-in-the-cas.tumblr.com/)
> 
> This story was such a labour of love and I'm eternally grateful that you all took the time to read this massive thing. Thank you!
> 
> The next part in the series will hopefully start going up in a couple weeks.


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